Gaara's thoughts
by Jyo-Chan
Summary: Romance comes in second chapter...Just Gaara's thoughts...His inner conflict...But someone comes closer to help him get through life and new found emotions...It's got some language yeah...And humour...Gaara x Sakura, Sasuke x Sakura
1. Inner Conflict

Gaara's inner conflict…

Summary…What more can I say? Just read the title…

Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto! I own nothing! Nada! Kapeesh! I'll be damned if I did!

_Italics - Thoughts_

_"..." - speeches..._

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_Don't come near me…don't touch me…just leave me alone…_

His mind was in conflict, no one was around yet he was paranoid.

_No more…_

He sat on one of the roofs of the Hidden Sand Village. Arguing with no-one but himself.

_Let me bleed…till it's gone…_

He tried, but in spite of what he wished, it still protected him.

_The pain…it won't go away…_

His hand clutched where his heart was, holding onto the fabric of his shirt.

_I'm falling…I'm breaking…_

His usual emotionless face, was filled with hurt. His once un-defined eyes now filled with sorrow.

_It won't stop…it won't leave me…_

His other hand reached for his head, it was aching.

_I hear voices…voices in my head…_

He continued with his one sided argument.

_They're making me go insane…_

Not that he already wasn't, but he felt like it was getting worse.

_I've become mentally insane…_

Not that he already wasn't, but it got worse.

_I've become selfish…a spoilt brat…_

He was and he finally noticed.

_I want attention…yet I can't have it…_

People feared him, he could smell their fear from miles away.

_Avoid everyone…keep away…I'm unsafe…_

He felt hurt, and there was no-one there to help him.

_Let me go…leave me be…_

He felt betrayed, and there was no-one there to support him.

_I'm dying…but desperately clinging onto life…_

On the inside he was, and there was no-one there for him to talk to.

_Pain…regret…betrayal…_

His thoughts led to Yashamaru…the person whom he thought had loved him.

_Don't leave me…don't leave me…_

He began to sob quietly.

_Don't talk…don't speak…just stay…enjoy the silence…_

That was what he would've said if someone was here.

_The reason why I'm alone…is because I have no choice but to be…_

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A/N - That's all from me…I'll be making a sequel if you want…One review is all I need!

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	2. Support and Comfort

Summary: Continuing onwards…Someone is here to lend an ear…

-He began to sob quietly.

_-Don't talk…don't speak…just stay…enjoy the silence…_

-That was what he would've said if someone was here.

_-The reason why I'm alone…is because I have no choice but to be…_

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Both hands were now pulling on his blood red hair. The pain from the pulling was nothing compared to his inner conflict with himself.

"Why?" he spoke softly because he knew no-one would hear him. No-one would want to help him. He was deserted, isolated from the whole village.

Temari, she cared for him, and also feared him…Kankurou…he just feared him…

He felt someone come closer, it was weak…insignificant. Like him…

The sand didn't even bother to shift, didn't bother to protect him. Even IT knew he could defend himself from a weakling such as this one.

But he never expected the person to be a girl. She spoke.

"Why are you crying?" she stood just inches away from him looking at him with a concerned face.

He looked up, surprised to see a pink haired girl. The one he tried to kill during the chounin exams. That was over a year ago now.

"You don't care…now leave me…" in truth, he wanted her to stay but he didn't want pity, he wanted love.

"Of course I care…" she took a step closer, but he didn't move.

"I tried to kill you…leave me before I actually do…" he didn't mean it, but it just came out naturally.

"I know you won't do that." Her voice was filled with sympathy, it made him feel more at ease.

"Fine…stay if you want…it's not my fault if I end up killing you…" He made no move to do anything or go anywhere so she sat down beside him, over-looking the entire village.

_How can she trust me after what I've done…_

His mind was once again in conflict, her coming was just a mere distraction from the pain.

They had been silent for a while now, staring out into the horizon. He watched her from the corner of his eye, she looked pretty in the sunset. His hands clutched onto his head hoping it would numb the pain but it didn't.

She never spoke, but instead she sang. He's never heard of it before but it was soothing. It made him feel more relaxed.

_Souda daiji na mono wa itsumo  
__Katachi no nai mono dake  
__Te ni iretemo nakushitemo  
__Kizukanumama_

_Sousa kanashimi wo yasashisa ni  
__Jibun rashisa wo chikara ni  
__Mayoinagarademo ii arukidashite  
__Mou ikkai mou ikkai_

(A/N: This is the opening song for Naruto! I think it's the…um…third opening? I'm not sure but I think that's it anyway. It's so nice! It's even got Gaara in it! Cool neh! That's probably why I decided to use this song instead.)

"I'm sorry…I must have zoned out, I'm a horrible singer." She turned to look at him while smiling.

He was taken aback by the fact that she apologized to him, but didn't show it.

"No…" he gently shook his head.

"Really? That's good." She was still smiling at him.

_She has a beautiful smile…_

"Continue…" it was more of a demand than a request, but she still sang.

"I'll sing a different one this time." She faced the sunset in the distance then began to sing again. And as she did, he pondered over the words she sang.

_Nee kikoe masu ka?_

_I can hear you..._

_Sora wa hate shinaku aoku sunde ite  
__Umi wa kagiri naku koudai de ite  
__Kimi wa itsumade mo egao de ite janai to nai chau kara_

_Why would you cry for me?_

_Mawari o mimawasa naku temo mou iin da yo  
__Kono te no naka ni wa minna ga iru kara_

_I've only had blood on my hands…_

_Naki taku natte nige taku natte  
__Shiawase o wasure teu shimatta ra mina utae  
__Hikari ga umare yami ga umare ta futatsu wa hitotsu  
__Harumonia kanji te terepashii_

_I don't feel…_

_Nee kikoe masu ka?_

(A/N: This is the…second ending to the Naruto series! It's one of my favorites! It somewhat relates to him in a way…Ponder on it all you want…Oh yea…if you don't really get it…Gaara's thoughts relate to the English version of the song or the Japanese or…both…Anyways…go find the translations so you can understand it a bit better neh?)

Once she was finished, he wanted to tell her to sing something else, because it provided him relief from his pain. But then, he realized what she was doing. What she might be doing to him.

_Yashamaru…_

He had a brief flashback of the assassination attempt by Yashamaru, the night when he was betrayed, the night when he felt emotional and physical pain. The 'Love' tattoo was carved onto his forehead.

He began to take gasping breaths, as if someone was suffocating him. His heart was starting to hurt.

"What's wrong?" she faced him with a worried look.

"Shut up…" he growled back at her.

"Huh?" she seemed upset at his sudden change and almost frightened.

"I said shut up!" his hands gripped on his head agonizingly.

"What's wrong? I don't understand." She came closer to him only to be pushed back.

"Get away from me!" he abruptly got up and staggered backwards unsure of what to do.

She stared at his shaking form, feeling sorry for him. She didn't want to be afraid of him, no matter how many times her mind screamed for her to run. She came closer, taking little steps at a time.

"No! I said get away from me!" his hand came up as if to protect himself from her, as if to put up a barrier around him. Sand began to shift violently under his feet, agitated movements showed that it was ready to attack at any given moment.

"I won't hurt you…" she spoke softly, slowly closing the gap between the two. He continued to walk unsteadily away from her with his hand still up to put more distance between them.

"I promise." She stopped coming towards him and stretched her arms out, to show that she won't force him into doing something that he didn't want to do. He was confused, even more so now. There, in front of him stood the girl he once tried to kill, instead of running away like everybody else, she was offering him comfort and support.

"Why?" his voice was filled with confusion and hurt.

"Because…" her arms still stretched out while his hand slowly dropped to his sides. He was silent, waiting for her to answer.

"Because Naruto told me about you." His eyes widened for a brief moment, but turned into a glare.

"Then you should be afraid of me. Why are you still here!" he sounded hurt but angry at the same time.

"At first I was, but I realized that you were just misunderstood…" her stretched arms were unmoving.

He lowered his head, mulling over the words she just spoke. The sand under him had calmed down.

_She knows…yet she doesn't run…Should I trust her? Only to be betrayed again? No…I can't…Not again…_

"I won't hurt you…I promise." She repeated the words again, softer with more feeling.

In spite of what his mind told him, his body slowly inched forward. He noticed that he was a head taller than her. Arms embraced him and all of a sudden, he felt warmer. He wasn't alone anymore. He buried his face in her long pink hair, both of his hands slowly rising then holding onto her waist.

"Why don't you run away like everybody else?" he spoke after along silence, both still holding onto each other.

"Do you want me to run?" she felt him tremble a little bit.

"…no…" almost a whisper (A/N: Hint hint! That's a good story! Read it if you know what I mean. Sorry for spoiling the mood…)

"Then I won't run…" she could feel his grip on her waist grow tighter, but it wasn't painful. The continued to stay like that up until someone came closer.

"Hey! Funny seeing you guys here!" a blonde loud mouth boy approached them with both hands behind his head, grinning his stupid grin.

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That's all for now…Till next time! Not much romance now I don't think but I'll try to make it more fluffy! Heehehehehee!

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	3. Smiles

Summary: Spending time with Naruto and Sakura…But mainly Sakura.

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Ah man! I'm so happy that I got so many reviews! That's totally making me hyped up! A pity though…that I got assignments and not to mention lots of freaking homework to do but! I'll do my best for all of you!

The genre's changing…what am I to do! And the title doesn't even make sense anymore! It's not even about Gaara's thoughts anymore either! Plus there's more bad language! Baka…Anyways…

**Bold thingy's like this with the 'speeches' here…is Inner Sakura talking…  
**_Italics like this here…are Gaara's thoughts unless written otherwise…  
_And you know the rest right? Kekekeke…(Wow…that's evil…)

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>"Why don't you run away like everybody else?" he spoke after along silence, both still holding onto each other.

>"Do you want me to run?" she felt him tremble a little bit.

>"…no…" almost a whisper...(A/N: Hint hint! That's a good story! Read it if you know what I mean. Sorry for spoiling the mood…)

>"Then I won't run…" she could feel his grip on her waist grow tighter, but it wasn't painful. The continued to stay like that up until someone came closer.

>"Hey! Funny seeing you guys here!" a blonde loud mouth boy approached them with both hands behind his head, grinning his stupid grin.

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Almost as soon as they heard his voice, they abruptly decided to let go.

"Uzumaki…" he glared at him for ruining his once in a lifetime happy moment.

"Hehehehe! Hey, there wasn't a 'Don't disturb me' sign or anything." He spoke while trying to suppress a laugh.

"Naruto!" she came up to him and gave him a punch to the head.

"Mou…Sakura-Chan…That kinda hurts you know…" he fell over holding onto his aching head.

(A/N: Have you noticed that I haven't used names up till now? Funny no? I was trying to keep it that way but I found it rather hard not to so…Might as well go for it neh…)

_She looks pretty when she's angry too…_

Having thought that, he shook his head to knock himself out from his daze.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Sakura having seen that, she was getting worried that he might want to kill Naruto for disturbing them.

"…Nothing…" he looked away crossing his arms, going over what he had just done with the pink haired girl.

Naruto was still on the ground rubbing his head gingerly from the hit he got from Sakura, seeing as they had forgotten about him completely, he decided to shut his mouth for once to observe what they were about to do.

"Sakura…" it was the first time he had spoken her name, in a strange way, it felt sweet.

"Yes?" she came up closer to him, this time he didn't back off. He turned his head to face her. She looked angelic in the sunset.

'**This is so damn romantic! With the sunset and all! Kyaa!' **Inner Sakura shouted out and threw a punch in the air.

"I…" he began slowly, thinking of the appropriate words to use. She was silent, and leaned in closer to see his face a bit better.

_I want another hug…_

"I…want…" Sakura blushed visibly and held her breath thinking something completely different to what he was intending on.

'**Oh my god! He freaking wants me! Kyaa!' **Inner Sakura screamed out and ran around her mind like an idiot.

_Why can't I say it?_

Sighing, he decided to change the subject.

"You're red…" he looked away again seeing as she was nervous, he chose not to push the boundaries of their possible friendship. She began to breathe again.

"No. What were you gonna say?" she was interested to find out what he wanted to say, wondering if what her other self said was true. Her blush deepened to a darker pink.

'**He said "I want!" for goodness sake! He must be implying that he wants me for something! Kyaa!' **Inner Sakura was screaming out again, still running around like a mad idiot. He turned to look at her once more. His gaze was soft, it wasn't intimidating or full of malice, but gentle and full of hurt.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" she saw the hurt in his eyes and felt sad of all a sudden. He came a little closer to her, uncrossing his arms. She remained in position, not moving away. He lowered his head a little to her ear. Whispering, his breath tickling her ear.

"I want…another hug…" he closed his eyes, a part of him expecting her to walk away, expecting betrayal, another expecting her to hug him.

When nothing come, he thought that she'd walked away, but when he was held in a tight embrace, he let out the breath he never knew he was holding. He returned the hug while never opening his eyes. They remained that way for a short period of time, until that is…

"Ooh! I see what's going on!" Naruto spoke up after a looong time…A long forgotten friend…

"Kya! I forgot you were here!" Sakura screamed out at Naruto while still holding onto Gaara.

"Hehe! I can't wait to tell Sasuke-Baka and Kakashi-Sensei about this!" he got up and ran off.

"IF YOU TELL THEM I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS BACK TO KONOHA!" she let go of Gaara and was holding up her fist threateningly at Naruto.

"…You don't…want them to know?" Gaara looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Well…not really. It might come as a big shock to them especially to Sasuke because he might wanna kick your butt." She smiled back at him.

"What are you saying?" looking slightly irritated at the fact that she thought he couldn't defend himself.

"What I'm saying is that…I just don't want to see you get hurt alright?" thinking back to when she saw him crying a little.

He felt weird all of a sudden, he could feel his empty self filling up to her love, little by little.

_What is this feeling? Is it…love? It can't be…can it?_

He was shocked after hearing those words, but wanted to brush this new found feeling away from him.

_No...Emotions will lead to betrayal...Just like Yashamaru..._

"I've been hurt all my life…" he looked away, not wanting to meet her green eyes.

"…" she was silent, feeling upset because she couldn't help him.

_But she's not Yashamaru..._

He began to walk away, to the direction of his house. He never expected her to apologize again…

"I'm sorry…" her head hung low, she could feel her eyes watering up. But she held it back, knowing full well that he probably didn't want her pity. He stopped.

_Twice in one day…_

"It's fine but…" his back still facing her, she looked up hoping that he would turn around but he didn't.

"…can I…come back for hugs?" he turned his head to the side a little bit waiting for her answer.

"Of course…just come find me whenever you feel like it ok?" she smiled a little bit.

Even though he couldn't see her face, he could hear it in her voice.

_She's smiling…is it for me?_

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AH! I'M SO SORRY! IT'S ANOTHER SHORT CHAPTER I KNOW! BUT I CAN'T FREAKING HELP IT! I'm getting it out bit by bit so I don't have to make you guys wait that long so yea…My apologies…

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	4. Hate?

I'm drinking miso soup right now! Ok…When I was writing this I WAS drinking it…But…while you're reading it…I'm probably not drinking it…But YOU can drink it! So go ahead! Drink a cup of miso! Or eat ramen…Miso ramen! Yummy!

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Summary: Chapter for Temari and Kankurou…Sibling love…Possibly…?

_Italics like this here…are Gaara's thoughts unless written otherwise…_

And you know the rest…

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>"I'm sorry…" her head hung low, she could feel her eyes watering up. But she held it back, knowing full well that he probably didn't want her pity. He stopped.

_>Twice in one day…_

>"It's fine but…" his back still facing her, she looked up hoping that he would turn around but he didn't.

>"…can I…come back for hugs?" he turned his head to the side a little bit waiting for her answer.

>"Of course…just come find me whenever you feel like it ok?" she smiled a little bit.

>Even though he couldn't see her face, he could hear it in her voice.

_>She's smiling…is it for me?_

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He silently walked through the village. Either receiving fearful looks or hateful glares…Sometimes, even both. He ignored them, not wanting for those looks to get to him.

Eventually he reached what he would call home, even though he never treated like one. It was just a decorated cell, a place to keep him in.

Walking into the house, he saw his sister sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

_Temari…_

"Welcome back Gaara." She spoke in a caring, but frightened sort of way. He kept silent.

"You left your gourd behind and that got me a little worried…" she smiled a little, he lowered his head.

"…Do you really care about me? Or is it something else…?" he spoke, never looking up.

"What? Of course I care about you!" she got up from her seat to try and defend herself from the words that are being thrown at her by Gaara.

"…" not feeling satisfied by this, he felt saddened at his sister's reaction. He wanted more of an explanation than that, but she stopped talking.

He walked away, silently marching up the stairs to his room.

Temari realized that it was slower than his usual speed.

_He looks as if he's got the world's burden on his shoulders...Even more so now…_Temari thought to herself while staring at her little brother's retreating figure.

"Hey…Is Gaara back?" a hooded boy stuck his head out of the kitchen door.

"Yea…But he's different today…" Temari spoke never turning a glance to her other brother.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?" he wasn't speaking out of concern for Gaara, but mainly for himself and his life, as well as his sister's.

"I don't know…He just is…" again, never once looking back at her middle aged brother.

(A/N: You have no idea how shocked I was when I heard that Temari was the oldest! I thought Kankurou was the oldest ya know? Like how there should be a big brother to look after his little sister and how a big sister would want a little brother…that thing? Anyways…If you're confused…Temari is first…then Kankurou…then Gaara!)

Gaara gently shut the door of his room. Walking over to his bed, which he's never use unless for lying down on, he rested himself on the bed. He wanted silence, so that he could think. But as soon as he sat down, he could hear the voices come back.

_You trust people too easily…_

…

_They'll eventually betray you again…just like before…_

Shut up…

_You'll never learn…will you?_

Shut up.

_Do you want to experience it again? The feeling of betrayal…_

Shut. Up.

_What is it that you want? The feeing of love you once felt? You and I know that it was all fake…_

Be quiet…Shut up.

_Just like what Yashamaru did…_

"I SAID SHUT UP!" he jumped from his seat, panting heavily due to the fight he just had with himself.

_Why won't it leave me alone…? Why won't it go away?_

He began to take slow deep breaths now.

_We'll never go away…Ever…_The voices replied back. It was unnerving, even for him.

There was a knock on the door. Then a feminine voice…It was Temari…

"Gaara, are you ok?" it was slightly muffled but could still be heard.

"…I'm fine…" his reply was soft, it made Temari worry about him more.

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?" she sounded unsure but she spoke before she had time to think.

"I'm sure…" he sat back on his bed, holding onto his head. He left like crying again but decided to hold it back.

"Ok then…Dinner's ready." She spoke once again before leaving. He could hear the sounds of her steps going away, proceeding down the stairs until he could hear it no more.

Silence…

Until he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. He bolted out his bedroom door and ran down the stairs, jumping down five steps and rushed to the kitchen.

"What happened?" he was panting hard. He saw Temari bending over to pick up some broken glass and Kankurou just sitting on the chair.

"Uh…I accidentally dropped the plate." Temari explained herself. Kankurou never moved from his seat but stared at Gaara with a raised eye brow.

"I can…help clean up…if you want…" looking down at the broken pieces of glass. Both Temari and Kankurou were shocked to hear Gaara offer a hand.

"No, I'll be ok." She brushed the shards of glass into a dust pan and proceeded out the door.

"I'll just throw these out ok?" she walked out of the kitchen and Gaara progressed to the seat opposite Kankurou.

_Ah crap! Don't kill me! _The hooded boy shouted in his mind.

"Do you…hate me?" Gaara didn't look at Kankurou, but he could feel that he's confused and shocked by the sudden question.

"Wha?" Kankurou blinked stupidly at him.

"…It's nothing…Forget it…" he got up and was about to walk out when…

"No…" Gaara stopped dead in his tracks, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't hate you…It's just that…you scare me sometimes…no offence…" Kankurou looked over to his little brother who was now leaning onto the door frame.

"None taken…I'll try not to be too scary…" he walked past Temari who just came back from dumping the glass into the bin and out the front door.

"What did you do?" after seeing Gaara in such a state, she turned on Kankurou.

"I…didn't do anything…" he held up his hands in defense. Temari came closer to him, holding onto her kunai.

_Oh crap…_Kankurou thought to himself.

(A/N: I like the fact that Kankurou gets bullied by Temari! It adds so much humor! But it would have been better if she had her fan with her…Waahahahaha!)

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Yet another short chapter…I'm so sorry…But I GOT LOTS OF REVIEWS! IT'S MAKING ME SO HAPPY! I'm trying to fit a little bit of everything in here…Like drama and romance and humor and blah blah blah…Ya know? Till next time!

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	5. The Search

I'm eating chicken ramen right now! …Ok…when I was writing this I was…but while you're reading it…I'm probably not…But you can! So go ahead! Eat some ramen! Chicken's my favourite!

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Summary: Looking for someone…Does Gaara want another little hug? Aw…so sweet…Here he come to the rescue or she…

_Italics like this here…are Gaara's thoughts unless written otherwise…  
_And you know the rest…

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>"Do you…hate me?" Gaara didn't look at Kankurou, but he could feel that he's confused and shocked by the sudden question.

>"I don't hate you…It's just that…you scare me sometimes…no offence…" Kankurou looked over to his little brother who was now leaning onto the door frame.

>"None taken…I'll try not to be too scary…" he walked past Temari who just came back from dumping the glass into the bin and out the front door.

>"What did you do?" after seeing Gaara in such a state, she turned on Kankurou.

>"I…didn't do anything…" he held up his hands in defense. Temari came closer to him, holding onto her kunai.

_>-Oh crap…_Kankurou thought to himself.

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_I want a hug…Why does it seem like she understands me more?_

Gaara was silently walking in the streets of Suna (Sand) once again. Unsure of where she could be staying, he walked around aimlessly until he found signs of the Konoha ninjas.

And surely, when he came upon a ramen bar, he found them.

"I think chicken ramen is the best! But other than that, I wouldn't mind miso ramen either. And then there's seafood ramen! That's really nice, and then after seafood ramen there would be…" a certain blonde kept on babbling.

"Ok! Shut up already!" a dark raven haired boy as well as a silver haired man yelled at the tiresome blonde.

"But I still have a lot more to go!" a few stray strands of ramen hanging on around his mouth.

"WE KNOW!" the dark raven haired boy spoke up.

"Mou…Hm?" Naruto seems to have sensed a strong source of chakra nearby.

"What?" even the silver haired one stopped reading his perverted book to see what the blonde kid was up to.

"Nothing…" he quickly finished his last bowl and decided to leave.

"Thanks for the ramen! See ya Sasuke-Baka, Kakashi-Sensei." And with that, he left his beloved ramen stand.

"Come back next time." The old man handed waved to his customer and Naruto left.

Even though Gaara was nearby, he still had trouble finding him.

_You'd think that even though I could sense him, I could somehow find him!_ Naruto yelled to himself in his head.

Naruto walked around the place trying to pinpoint the location of the insomniac boy. He eventually reached a dark alleyway where he could feel someone waiting for him.

"What took you so long…" a shadowy figure silently walked up to the blonde.

"I was trying to find you! How the hell would I know that you would be here! That's so cliché!" the blonde crossed his arms in frustration.

"…" he continued to come closer to the blonde boy until they were only a few steps away from each other.

"What?" he sounded irritated.

"Where's Sakura?" arms folded and his voice a little less monotonous than before.

"Sakura? She left…uh…5 minutes before I sensed you. And don't worry! I didn't tell them about you guys being together and all. Sakura-Chan made sure of that…I got so many punches to the head, it still freaking hurts!" he said while gingerly rubbing the spot where it was hurting him the most.

"Hn…" he nodded slightly before disappearing into the darkness.

"She might be in our apartment. Like…um…The Windy Inn…3rd floor number…You're not gonna kill her right?" Naruto raised one of his eyebrows and stared at the figure that was covered in the dark.

"I won't kill her…" Gaara didn't sound hesitant when he replied so suddenly but that made Naruto feel that Sakura would be safe around him.

"You better! Anyways…6A. If she comes crying to me, you better watch out. All right?" he pointed his finger accusingly at Gaara, but he meant well for the girl.

"Hn…Thank you…" he left, leaving behind a beaming Naruto. Slowly making his way to the inn.

_She came into your life by accident…She'll leave you alone one day…Alone like before…By accident…_

You're bugging me again…

_Everything in your life was an accident…You were made to be a weapon…Only to be made insane by accident…_

Quit it…

_But Yashamaru was no accident...You know that…_

"Shut up!" he stopped, panting heavily in the streets. People stopped and stared at him with fearful looks. He hated them, he decided to hide, conceal himself and lurk in the shadows until he reached the inn.

(A/N: I just came back from the Lantern festival! It was so good and crowded…But it was still good. Yeah…)

Sakura was casually walking down the streets, not caring how much time had passed by or where her feet would take her. She just wanted to get away from Sasuke's unwavering silence towards her. She felt hurt in more ways than one. She didn't eat dinner. Why? Because ramen was unhealthy. And besides, she was on a strict diet to lose weight and look pretty for Sasuke.

"Sasuke-Kun…" she stared at the floor as she walked, not bothering to look in front of her.

She walked past a group of dodgy looking people and one of them whistled at her. It got her attention but she decided to let it slide.

"Hey girl! Why don't we do a quick one?" one of the boys yelled out at her while the others were snickering away. She felt angry and responded in the only way she probably knew how.

"What the hell do I look like to you!" she looked at the boys and couldn't stop herself from saying whatever came into her mind first.

"Feh! Even Gaara's better than all of you combined!" she stuck both hands on her hips and held her chin up high. The boys glared at her, their smirks and snickers gone, replaced with intimidating looks. One of them came up to her and she didn't see his hand grab her hair, very tightly. She was forced back.

"You're gonna eat those words, pinky…" he pulled on her hair tighter and she winced a little bit.

"Call her that again…I dare you…" he stood meters away from them, radiating anger and bloodlust.

The boys were completely frozen but the one holding onto Sakura covered it up with fake courage.

"Or else what? You'll kill us for hurting your 'girlfriend'?" he smirked at Gaara, the other guys stared at the other with sheer shock.

"I dare you…" his words were simple, yet his voice was so intimidating, it was evil to the core.

The boy who was holding onto Sakura couldn't help but take an awkward step back, slightly loosening his grip on her hair, with a look of fear and anger on his face. The sand around Gaara was starting to shift and jerk around abruptly.

Gaara took a step forward, it was small but it made the guys jump back but not the one holding onto Sakura. In fact, the grip on her hair tightened. Gaara noticed.

"You're pretty sadistic if you keep on going like that…It's like asking for a death wish…from me…" he took another step, the sand followed. It was hovering above him now, the boy was retreating fully, letting go of Sakura's hair.

As soon as her hair was let go, the sand lunged forward. Holding onto the legs of the guys and dragging them back to Gaara. Some of them whimpering while the others clawing at the ground for an attempt to get away. The sand slowly made its' way up the bodies of their new catch. Gaara smiled, it was insane, vicious, brutal. It was intimidating.

Sakura wanted to stop him before he did something he might hate himself for doing later.

"Gaara!" she ran up to him, holding onto him like there was no tomorrow.

"Please stop, don't do it. Please." She pleaded him, her hold on him tightened, hoping that it might snap him back to reality.

The sand stopped and fell to the ground. Letting go of the boys who ran without hesitation, ran and never looked back.

_She pleads for me…And I obeyed…_

Sakura cried, her head on his chest. He looked down at her shaking form. And awkwardly held her close.

_I didn't do this…I didn't mean for this to happen…_

"Don't cry…" her muffled sobs was receding but still clung onto him for support.

She spoke when she was sure that her voice wouldn't crack. Soft yet firm.

"Why?" her voice was stifled but could still be heard.

"They were hurting you…" his chin resting just on top of her head.

"You were protecting me?" she didn't move from their position. She felt warm being with him.

"I don't know..." his hold on her tightened, but it didn't hurt her.

"What do you mean?" her voice was soft and calming, it made him feel more relaxed.

"I got angry, and I reacted before I had time to think…" he closed his eyes to savor this moment.

"Thank you…for saving me…" she looked up at his face, fresh tears fell from her face.

"Why are you crying? Is it because they were hurting you, or is it because you're afraid of me losing my control…?" one arm held her in place while the other reached up for her cheek, gently smearing her tears away.

"…A little bit of both, but mainly because I don't want you to get into trouble." She had stopped crying, but his hand was still cupping her cheek.

"Are you afraid…of me?" he stared into her eyes, they were gentle, as if saying 'I'll never hurt you, ever…'

"Not anymore." She could see the hurt in his eyes, ever since their first encounter, she could tell that he needed her now more than ever.

"I don't want your pity…" his voice was lower and cold. He looked away from her, letting go of her face.

"I don't pity you…pity is feeling sorry for someone. Having unreal or false emotions to make the other feel better." She spoke softly, but feeling colder because his warmth was gone.

"Do you pity me? Do you feel sorry for me?" he couldn't bring himself to look at her, in fear of rejection. The face tells all.

"Look at me…" she brought up her hand to his face and gently forced his to look at her.

"I don't feel badly for you, because I know you don't want that kind of relationship." She delicately rubbed the black lines under his eyes.

_I don't know what I want…or need…But I feel safer around her…as if she can offer me anything…Everything…_

"Relationship…?" he looked confused. Like a lost child wandering in the harsh desert.

"Yea…Do you wanna give it a try?" she smiled at him, seeing as how he looks so cute when he's confused.

"But…I don't know what to do…What about that Uchiha?" his voice growled when he said Uchiha.

"Don't talk about him while we're together." She continued to smile even though his voice was scary.

"Am I just a replacement for him?" his eyes looked betrayed, filled with more pain and hurt.

"No…You're better than him." He smirked when he heard her say that.

"But I still don't know what to do." His smirk was replaced with a concerned look.

"Do whatever comes naturally to you." At that moment, he could only think of one thing to do.

He leaned in a little closer to her face, waiting for permission to continue. When she didn't move away, he assumed that it would be ok.

A kiss.

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Oh! So interesting! What cha guys think? How would the rest of team 7 feel about this? Catch the next episode of…Naruto…? Bleh…

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	6. A fight for her

I'm eating pasta chicken right now! It took me a while to make it but yea…If you wanna go eat it, then make it! Or order out…wahahaha!

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Summary: Who's spying on them! Talk about no privacy here!

_Italics like this here…are Gaara's thoughts unless written otherwise…_

And you know the rest…

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>"Do whatever comes naturally to you." At that moment, he could only think of one thing to do.

>He leaned in a little closer to her face, waiting for permission to continue. When she didn't move away, he assumed that it would be ok.

>A kiss.

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"Ok…Since our mission here is done, let's head back…" the silver haired man going by the name of Kakashi spoke loftily.

"What? But…can I stay here a little longer?" Sakura begged Kakashi with both hands clasped together in front of her.

"We can't just leave you here alone…" he took out his perverted book and resumed where he was when he last stopped.

"But…" she looked upset, eyes glazed over.

"We are not allowed to stay any longer than necessary…Besides, you have no where to go and no-one to take you back home…Hehe…" he smiled sheepishly behind his blue mask.

"I can stay with Sakura-Chan! And I can take her back home too!" Naruto shouted with much happiness.

"Really? Thanks Naruto!" she smiled at him, Naruto blushed a little bit.

"Dope…Why would Sakura want to stay here? It's hot and there's not very many nice people here…" his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"So…Sakura. Why do you want to stay longer?" he lowered his book a little to see her face.

Sakura blushed and suddenly found her sandals to be very interesting. Naruto started laughing at her but Sakura retaliated by punching him on the head.

"Ow! Sakura-Chan! That hurts!" Naruto rubbed his head.

_She's hiding something…_Sasuke thought while eying Sakura.

"Well?" Kakashi persisted in asking her the same question.

"I…need to buy something! I wanna do some shopping!" **'GREAT COVER! KYA!' **Inner Sakura shouted out.

"Ah…Well, I guess we could stay a little longer…Ehehe…" he went back to his perverted book.

"Yes! Come on Naruto!" she signaled Naruto to follow her and they ran off.

_Since when did she start hanging out with Naruto?_ Sasuke thought as he watched the run off.

"Hm…Looks like Sakura's moved on, don't you think?" Kakashi didn't take his eyes off his book.

"Moved on from what?" he glared at his teacher, disturbed that he still reads that kind of book.

"You'll see…" he spoke as he walked off in the direction of the Kazekage's office. He wanted to inform them that they will be staying a little longer for shopping purposes.

(A/N: Oh no! Looks like Kakashi already knows! But when will Sasuke find out? I don't know eh? Wahahahaha!)

"Hey Naruto! Where does Gaara live? I didn't know we were gonna leave today. That's short notice. And besides, I don't wanna leave Gaara without telling him first." She looked around the streets hoping that she might bump into him again.

"I don't know where he lives, but you guys seem to be very close…Hehehe…" he snickered at Sakura and somehow managed to dodge a blow from her.

"Stop trying to hit me! First it's when I annoy you and now it's turned to whenever I embarrass you!" Sakura blushed and try to hit Naruto again, he dodged.

"Shut up about it!" she tried to punch him again only to miss.

"Quit it! You're gonna give me amnesia one day!" this time he decided to run away from her wrath of embarrassment.

Naruto jumped from roof to roof to avoid her while Sakura followed closely behind, they made such a commotion, people stared at them as they passed by wondering if they had gone insane.

"A man should never run from a woman…Dope…" he stood just in front of them and they halted their run.

"Hey Sasuke-Baka…What do you want?" Naruto just stared at him with a half smile and half smirk on his face.

"Hi Sasuke-Kun…" she came up from behind Naruto.

_She sounds different…No longer does her voice sound sweet to me, it just holds respect…_Sasuke thought.

"Nothing…" his eyes continuously changing from Naruto, to Sakura then back.

_They're hiding something…_his onyx black eyes seem to glare at them now.

"Hey Naruto, why don't we go get lunch or something?" she turned to see the blonde.

Naruto could sense her need to get away from Sasuke as soon as possible.

"Ramen! I want Ramen!" he practically jumped off the roof, onto the ground and skipped away.

"Hey! Wait for me! Bye Sasuke." she jumped off and followed Naruto.

_So that's what Kakashi meant when he said she's moved on…_Sasuke watched them walk off into the distance.

_But why does she want to stay here longer? She's not even doing any shopping._ Feeling slightly annoyed, he decided to leave.

(A/N: I'm gonna go watch a movie tonight! Yippee! Just finished eating dinner too so yea…)

"Hey Naruto?" Sakura stared at Naruto as he happily slurped up his ramen.

"Hm?" there was a limp noodle (A/N: That's from Mulan by the way…) around his mouth which irritated Sakura.

"I think…I might have fallen for Gaara you know?" she looked away from him to find her blushing cheeks.

"Yea I know." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and ordered some more.

"What is he like?" still not turning around to look at him.

"Shouldn't you ask him that question?" he tucked into his next bowl of ramen. Suddenly they felt a strong presence behind them.

"Ask him what?" the heard a familiar voice behind them and she turned around to see his face.

"Gaara!" she jumped up and hugged him, Naruto just smiled sheepishly at them.

"I've been looking for you! Or we, but we stopped to eat ramen, or rather Naruto did but yea!" Sakura still held onto Gaara with her feet barely touching the ground.

(A/N: I didn't go see the movie…but I got some caramel popcorn instead! Munch munch! Nice…)

_What the hell! What is Sakura doing with Gaara? He's the guy that tried to kill her! Bastard…_Sasuke tightened his fist and came storming into the ramen bar.

"Sasuke!" Sakura was shocked to see Sasuke come in with such an intimidating look, she let go of Gaara, but as soon as she did, Sasuke punched Gaara only to meet a wall of sand.

"Sasuke! What are you doing! Stop it!" she was about to come into the fight and break it up when Naruto held her back.

"I don't think that's a good idea Sakura, you might end up getting hurt." Naruto stared at Sasuke. His face, his eyes, they were filled with hurt and betrayal and anger.

"Hey hey! Don't fight in my restaurant! Take it outside!" the keeper of the bar shouted out at the two but Sasuke ignored him, Gaara just stood there.

"YOU STOLE HER! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER! YOU SICK BASTARD!" Sasuke screamed out with all him might while trying to fight Gaara at the same time.

All his punches met with a sandy wall, his shield of sand.

"FIRST YOU TRIED TO KILL HER AND NOW YOU'RE WITH HER! YOU MUST HAVE MANIPULATED HER!" Sasuke continued on with his shouting and attacks.

_I never knew he cared…_Sakura thought to herself while she watched Sasuke fight with Gaara.

"YOU STOLE HER!" his punch managed to go through the shield and punch Gaara's face. The red haired boy staggered back a bit wiping off the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Sasuke was about to jump on him again but a hand held him back.

"She was never yours to begin with…Sasuke…You lost your chance with her…Deal with it…" Kakashi appeared just in time to stop him from hurting Gaara again. Sakura ran to him.

"Gaara, are you ok?" she took out her handkerchief and wiped off some blood for him.

_She used…to care about me…run to my side whenever I was hurt…I thought that she would wait…until I was done with Itachi…_Sasuke thought, his hands bleeding from the relentless attacks on Gaara. It was hurting him, but not as much as his heart breaking in two.

"I'm fine, thank you…" he let her wipe the blood of his lips as he looked into her eyes.

_Her eyes show that…she cares for me…Not hesitant…to come to my side…to help me…_

He continued to watch Sakura take care of Gaara, tears forming in his eyes. Naruto saw this and felt sorry for Sasuke. Sakura wanted to yell at him for hurting Gaara but saw that his hands were bleeding and took out her other handkerchief for him.

"You better take it, it'll be the last thing you get from Sakura…" Kakashi whispered into Sasuke's ears.

"Are you ok Sasuke? Here." She held out a pink cloth with cherry blossoms on it. He stared at it for the moment and took it. Kakashi decided to let go and let him leave.

"Sasuke…" she murmured out his name, nobody but Kakashi heard it.

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AW DAMN! I'M SO EVIL! WAHAHAHAHHAA! So now you know how Sasuke took it…Looks like he had feelings for Sakura but never told her about it…His loss really…I'm sorry! I mean no disrespect to Sasuke and Sakura lovers out there! I'm soooo sorry! And also thank you to those who reviewed this ficcy!

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	7. Dinner

I'm so sorry! There was a huge as writer's block for me…But I'm back! After completing 'Torn…' Don't worry! I intend on finishing this before I start anything new! Get it!

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_"You better take it, it'll be the last thing you get from Sakura…" Kakashi whispered into Sasuke's ears._

_"Are you ok Sasuke? Here." She held out a pink cloth with cherry blossoms on it. He stared at it for the moment and took it. Kakashi decided to let go and let him leave._

_"Sasuke…" she murmured out his name, nobody but Kakashi heard it._

_

* * *

_"I just don't understand it…I always thought that he hated me…" Sakura was sitting on one of the roofs of Sand, her feet dangling over the sides. 

"If you knew…would you have gone to him?" Gaara sat beside, her watching her every movement.

"…I don't know…" Sakura didn't want to look at him, she felt confused, she didn't know what to do.

"…" Gaara lowered his head, feeling heartbroken.

_I told you…they will leave you eventually…Leave you to the way you were before…_

He stayed quiet, letting the voice in his head fill out his now empty mind.

_Emotions are weak…They are nothing…_

He closed his eyes, feeling something hurting them. He cried softly, allowing the tears to fall down his face. He felt someone's hand on his face, wiping his tears away.

"But, I'm with you now and I have no regrets." She smiled at him.

He felt lighter, as if a burden has been lifted.

"Sakura…" he embraced her in a hug hoping that he would never have let her go.

"I won't hurt you…physically or emotionally…" Sakura spoke softly.

"I'll protect you…no matter what…" he closed his eyes.

* * *

On a roof in the far side of the village, stood a tall and dark figure. His eyes filled with loss and face filled with confusion. 

_Sakura…I've lost you…I thought you would wait for me…I was wrong…_

Something stung his eyes, they were tears.

_Sakura…I thought you love me…I was wrong…_

He clenched his fist until his nails dug into his skin. They bleed.

_Sakura…I won't lose you…I'll get you back…Even if I have to kill Gaara…_

His face went from sorrow to anger.

_Sakura…you're mine…I will get you back…no matter what…_

He stood up, the blood dripped onto the floor.

_Sakura…I promise…I will get you back…_

He had a new purpose now, and that was to get her back.

_Gaara…I'm coming for you…so you better watch out…_

He jumped off the roof onto another, eyes flaring from normal black orbs to the Sharingan. Searching for his new target, his new kill.

_I'll get you both!

* * *

_

"Ouchies." Sakura yelped in pain as she sucked on her thumb.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked as he peeked inside the kitchen.

"I accidentally cut my thumb." She pouted her lips and showed Gaara what happened.

"It's only a small cut…" he spoke after close examination.

"But it hurts…" she pouted some more.

"You should stay away from the kitchen."

"It's not like you know how to cook." She glared at him.

"Well, you never asked…"he smirked at her as she looked up at him.

"Do you know how to cook?" partly hoping that he can.

"No…" his smirk disappeared as she made a sweat-drop…

"Well, you were implying that you knew how to cook…"

"It doesn't mean I know how to cook…"

"Whatever…" she looked away from him as he bandaged up her thumb.

"Let's go out for dinner." He asked while still holding onto her hand.

"Why? I can cook."

"I don't want to find you bleeding to death in the kitchen."

Sakura pouted her lips as she leered at Gaara, but relaxed after a bit. 'I guess it's his way of saying 'I don't want you to get hurt.'

"Sure, where do you have in mind?"

"…Ramen?"

"Mou…you hang out with Naruto too much, it's rubbing off on you, one day I'm gonna find another Naruto instead of Gaara…" she teased as she poked him in his ribs.

"Can't help it."

* * *

"Hey! Sakura-chan! I found this neat ramen stand! It's so good!" Naruto shouted out to her as he hailed the bar keeper for more ramen. 

"Hi Naruto." She smiled as she took a seat beside him. Gaara hesitated before stepping into the bar, but was met with odd stares and glares. Sakura noticed this and decided to have takeaway instead.

"Ano, can I have two miso ramen please, were gonna eat out thanks." Sakura spoke to the owner who was uncertain about serving both a leaf shinobi and Gaara of the sand, but decided to do it anyway, if it means getting rid of them faster.

After a few minutes, he gave them their orders and Sakura paid for it, picking up their orders and leaving, dragging behind Gaara. "Geez, what the hell is their problem. It's like they've never seen a leaf shinobi before."

"They weren't looking at you that way."

"Ok fine, maybe not at me but I don't like the way they were looking at you." She spoke angrily.

"You noticed?"

"Of course I noticed! I'm not smart for nothing ya know." She smiled at him as she continued to hold onto his hand trying to find the best place to eat quietly. "Where's a good place to eat?"

"Kankurou and Temari are usually training at this time, we can eat at my house."

"Is that an invitation?" slowing down to a stop.

"Yes?"

"You sound unsure…"

"I'm sure."

"Ok then. So, where do you live?" she asked as she let go of his hand.

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Oh no, I've lost complete inspiration on what to do with this fic…and I really don't want to let anybody down…what am I do to! 


	8. Trip back to Konoha

Something went wrong with my computer…so all my chapters on Gaara's thoughts have been lost…sigh…but I gotta say…that ain't one of my best fics if ya know what I mean? So…I'm gonna try improving it starting from chapter eight…here ya go neh… 

I also wanna work on my new story…but that would be too distracting…so yeah…

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"Neh, Gaara-kun. We might be leaving tomorrow, are you gonna come with us?" Sakura asked as she held onto his arm. Gaara stared at the floor as if to contemplate what to do or not.

"I'm not sure, I might be needed in Sand." Gaara spoke as he gently took her hand into his. "Go find Naruto, I'll be there in a sec."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see somebody." He let go of her hand and left, leaving her wondering who he might be seeing. 'He better not be two-timing me.' She pouted her lips and walked off to the nearest ramen stand is search of Naruto, unaware that she was being watched by a brooding Uchiha. "Sakura…"

As Sasuke continued to watch her from a fair distance, even he didn't know that he was being looked over by another Sharingan user, perhaps too distracted by what to do to pay much attention to his surroundings. 'You better not do anything stupid now, Sasuke…'

As Gaara neared the office of the recently appointed Kazekage (because Gaara's father died…) he couldn't help but feel as if he's being followed. When he turned around, there wasn't anybody that was acting suspiciously so he continued on walking, when he got to the office, he didn't bother signing himself in. 'That's pointless.' He let himself into the office, partly scaring the new Kazekage.

"Ah, hi Gaara…how many I help you?" he sounded scared and a little agitated, but tried to act normally he would with a shinobi of sand. "Want some tea?"

Gaara made a sweat-drop as he shook his head. "No thank you, I want a pass to go to Konoha."

"What for, if I may ask?" he carefully stood up from hi seat and smiled nervously at the red haired boy. "I have some business to take care of over there."

"I see, well I suppose you can escort the platoon of Konoha ninjas back to their homes as well." He spoke as he went over to his drawer to take out a scroll. He scribbled down a few words, some lines and a signature and handed it over to Gaara.

"Here you go, be safe of your trip…uh…yeah?" he smiled lopsidedly at the boy as he took the scroll and walked off with a slight nod. Once he was out of the door, the Kazekage sank down to his knees. "Phew…talk about adrenaline…"

Gaara trudged down the streets, receiving fearful looks and glances from everyone he passed, but he got used to it, almost. It still got him angry every once in a while but it wasn't something that couldn't be dealt and ignored with.

If looks could kill, they would accumulate and end up killing Gaara himself, but one look from the red head could send you from hell and back twice over. Scary…

By the time he got to Naruto, he had already eaten twenty bowls of ramen, talk about good service! The bar tender looks as if he's fallen in love with the blonde, but his loyalties remain with Ichiraku Ramen, must to his dismay.

"Hey." He greeted them and beckoned for Sakura to come outside, just so that the stand wouldn't lose it's publicity. No one wants Gaara to ruin their reputation or customers.

"I got my visa to leave with you." Gaara spoke as he took out his pass as evidence for her to see. Her face lit up as she jumped onto the red head, taking a step back due to the weight. Not that she was heavy, it was more like he wasn't expecting it. "Yay! I can't believe you're coming with us! That's so cool." Then Naruto came out of his haven.

"Ano sa, ano sa…what's going on?" Naruto spoke as he stuck his head out of the stand. "Gaara's coming to Konoha with us! Isn't that great?" she spoke as she jumped of the said person to punch Naruto on his head.

"Hey, hey! Don't punch me just because you're so excited." He gingerly rubbed his head and dodged another one of her punches. "I'm not excited! I'm beyond excited! He's coming with us! Come on, let me punch you one more time!" she laughed as she tried again but failed.

"Gaara! I feel sorry for you." The blonde panted as he got away from her, punches turning into kicks. Curiosity killed the cat…more like Naruto actually. "Why?"

"You've got a very aggressive girlfriend!" he shouted out, not managing to dodge this time around. "Why you little! Take that back or I'm gonna kill you!"

"You're already killing me!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

Gaara sighed as he watched the two fight it out, Naruto was doing defense and she was obviously offence.

* * *

"We're going back to Konoha, we're going back to Konoha!" Sakura spoke in a sing song voice as she skipped away from Gaara's home. She made a little spin on the spot and turned around to see Gaara. "Do you wanna stay over at my place? We've got a guest room, not that you're gonna use it but it's still good to offer neh!"

"Hn…" not wanting to lose his fearsome reputation in front of Uchiha but she didn't take it to heart. "Great!"

While Sasuke was brooding at the back, Kakashi was in front of him while Naruto was at the very front with Sakura and Gaara in the middle of them. Every once in a while Sasuke would activate his Sharingan out of impulse of wanting to attack but decided to wait for later. Kakashi sensed it but didn't want to make it obvious to the others.

It didn't take very long to get back to Konoha, a little bit under the scheduled time. The weather was…so damn hot…it could seriously kill you from dehydration. And unfortunately for Naruto…he forgot his drink bottle back in the apartment. But also lucky for Naruto that Sakura offered hers to him! How nice is that! And also some shade provided by Gaara's sand. Sasuke of course didn't want to have anything to do with Gaara so he decided to keep his distance away from his and always behind Kakashi.

If I was some mad jealous kinda person, who I partly am…and I am stuck in the blistering hot desert with nobody but my arch-nemesis, a cool shade would sound awesome eh!

But no…Sasuke isn't that kind of person who would get tempted very easily…neither am I…but back to the story!

He spent the whole trip planning for his attack on the 'unsuspecting' sand-nin hoping he would win back his so oh 'beloved's' heart. He spent that whole time…glaring daggers at his back, more like Kakashi's back since he's right in front of him. But if he could then he would!

Once they got to Konoha, past the big looming gates with the word 'PEACE' on the doors, Naruto decided to get some ramen. It's always the first thing he does as soon as he comes back home to Konoha. Almost like a routine you could say.

"I'm going to get me some ramen!" Naruto shouted out as he punched the air, while Sakura made a sweat-drop at her…ramen addicted friend. "Ramen is so bad for you Naruto!"

"But it's sooo good!" he spoke with stars in his eyes as he 'floated' all the way to his beloved Ichiraku Ramen. Talk about love struck…

"Shall we join him?" Sakura asked as she continued to gape at Naruto. "Hn…" still not wanting to lose his 'fearsome' reputation in a foreign country.

"Geez, what's with you and 'Hn'?" she spoke with quotation marks.

"It's easier that way…" he spoke as he crossed his arms.

"Yeha, yeah, whatever."

They walked off, following Naruto unaware that they were being spied on by a very overly jealous Uchiha…"I'm gonna get cha…I'm gonna get cha…"

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Total loss of inspiration…gimme some ideas? If you don't like the way this fic is going…then I can start on my new story…..but majority rules! Vote…And also…I didn't mean to make Sasuke sound so horrible…I apologize mate. Last quote by Dory…from Finding Nemo! Wahahahaha!

Continue?

Discontinue?

Put on hold?


	9. Watching Eyes

I was quite surprised this story didn't suck…so here ya go! Thanks for ya support.

* * *

A certain pink haired shinobi was humming a tune in the kitchen while cutting some spring onions for the porridge she was making, unaware that Gaara was lurking around and standing by the doorway that led to the kitchen. 

"What are you making?" he asked as he leaned on the frame. She stopped humming the tune and smiled at Gaara as she replied, "I'm making porridge." He seemed contented with that answer and she went back to humming that tune, occasionally singing a few words as well. "What are you singing?" he asked again while staring intently at her reaction.

"I'm singing 'Pure Snow', it's a really nice song. It doesn't snow much in Konoha, not unless it's very cold during the winter time." She smiled as she slipped in the spring onions and proceeded to slicing the pork that would go well with the porridge.

"Could you sing it again?" this time he went over to the kitchen table and sat on the chair, watching her every move. "Yeah sure."

_Konayuki ga maiorite kita machi de Toiki ga shiroku sora ni hodokete yuku Anata no koto omoeba doushite?  
Konna ni mune ga atsuku naru_

_Ki ga tsuku to itsumo hitogomi no naka Youfuku uriba window nozoku to Kawanai no ni erandari shite'ru Anata ni niai sou da nante_

_Baka mitai da yo ne Ima wa hayaranai ne Tomodachi no koibito to Wakattete suki ni natte_

_Shou ga nai warawarete mo ii Taisetsu na kimochi_

_Pure snow Pure heart futari Deatta hi mo yuki ga futte-ita Koi yori mo setsunakute Ai yori mo uso no nai Unmei wo kanjita no_

"I like your voice." He spoke as he continued to gaze at her. "Thank you." She smiled as she stirred the porridge. She went over to the cupboard and took out two bowls, one for her and one for him.

"Here you go." She placed the bowl right in front of him and handed him a spoon. "Tell me what you think of it." She watched him eagerly as he took the spoon she gave him and scooped up some of the porridge. "Be careful, it's a little hot." She warned him before he stuck the whole thing in his mouth. He blew at it gently and then took a bit of it. He chewed it thoughtfully then gave her a face.

"What?" she was starting to get worried now when she saw that face.

"It's good." He spoke as he took another bite. Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Of course it's good! I made it." She laughed at herself.

"Then why were you so worried?" he asked as he quirked up an 'inexistent' eyebrow at her.

"Ano…ehehe…" she scratched the back of her head and stuck out her tongue at him.

* * *

"Hey, Gaara-kun. What do you wanna do today? Wanna go spar with Lee or Naruto?" she asked as she tugged his arm as they walked down the streets of Konoha. "Hn…" was the only answer she got. 

'Men and their egos…predictable…' she scoffed and decided to let go of his hand so that she wouldn't further embarrass him.

Just around the corner, a few blocks to Ichiraku Ramen where they most definitely will find Naruto, they bumped into the said person themselves. "Hey Naruto! We're just going to Ichiraku Ramen to find you." Sakura happily greeted him with a playful punch to his arm.

"Ano, what for?" the blonde asked. "Wanna spar with Gaara or something? I don't want him to get bored while he's here you know?"

"Uh…sure?" he looked over at the sand-nin who just shrugged. "It was her idea." The red head replied monotonously.

* * *

His style of fighting hasn't changed one bit, he still stands right bam smack in the middle of the fighting field and waits for his opponent or opponents to strike first. Crossing his arms out of boredom, he watched as Naruto tried to get through his defense with ruthless kicks and punches. 

"No fair! Sakura, he's cheating!" Naruto shouted out of frustration when he failed to land a punch on him for the hundredth time in five minutes. Sakura decided to tease them by shouting back, "Get use to it!" she laughed at herself, surely Gaara would let go of his shield of sand to prove that he can fight without them and then he did.

'Men, they'll do anything to prove they can do it…' she smiled as she watched Naruto and Gaara spar with each other, occasionally throwing shurikens or kunais and probably a few techniques here and there. By the end of it all, the whole field was covered up in sand from Gaara and holes from Naruto's Rasengan.

They were sitting back to back in the middle of the field, just resting and trying to regain their breaths. "That was good." Naruto panted out, he felt Gaara nod back. "We should do this again sometime." The red head couldn't find his strength to talk back, not unless it was necessary.

Then out of nowhere, a kunai flew out of the trees with a deadly aim to the head. His eyes widened in surprise as his sand came up to protect him. There was a pause before three shurikens came out from another direction still aimed at the red head. Gaara grunted as he forced himself to get up from his seat, making Naruto fall backwards. "I didn't see that coming…" Naruto spoke as he looked up at the sky.

"Leave now…" Gaara's eyes darted around, trying to sense out who was attacking him, although it was quite obvious who it was. Naruto clumsily got up and walked over to Sakura, not wanting to get himself involved in a fight for love, for he knew who was attacking the sand-nin.

"Hey what's going on?" Sakura asked as she watched Gaara's sand come up to protect him from weapons in random directions. "I think Sasuke's jealous and wants you back." Naruto replied as he leaned on the tree that she previously occupied. "And you're just gonna sit there and not help him!" she yelled at him. "He told me to get lost."

She turned around and this time she saw Sasuke jump out of a tree and landed just a few paces away from Gaara, his eyes flaring red with the Sharingan, the third wheel appearing showing determination. Kunais and shurikens in hand and in a fighting position.

"No way…" she gasped when she realized that his third wheel appeared, 'He can't be serious.'

If this was when she was still in love with him and not going out with Gaara, she would've cheered for him to win her love, but this is different, she wasn't in love with him anymore and she was going out with Gaara. 'He doesn't understand…'

Sasuke continued to relentlessly pound at his defense, throwing smoke bombs to distract him, using explosive tags to throw him off which didn't work. Using his 'Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu' with a weapons twist and it still didn't phase the red head. Now getting far too frustrated, he got ready for Chidori, this time using both of his hands. He didn't care if it hurt, as long as it hits Gaara and he wins back Sakura.

"Chidori!" he came charging at the red head at a tremendous speed unaware of a flash of pink that came into his vision. "STOP IT!" she shielded herself from the impact with both of her hands in front of her to cover up her face.

He stopped just in time as one of his hands came up to hit him or her. He panted heavily, mind working so hard to comprehend her actions. 'Why? Why? Why, why!' he continuously shouted in his head, unable to think of a reasonable excuse.

Sakura opened her eyes cautiously and found one hand just inches away from her face, she backed away slowly and bumped into Gaara. Sasuke's Chidori slowly faded away to nothingness, still trying to think of a reason for her actions.

"Why?" he sounded heartbroken, frustrated, confused. Something she has never once seen him go through, especially so many at once. "Why!"

"You nearly hit Gaara, I won't let you hurt him." She spoke as she tugged onto the said person's shirt. He repeated again. "Why?"

"You didn't take the chance when I offered it so many times. You've missed it Sasuke." She replied as she watched the emotions go through his eyes, so painful, negative. "Why?" his voice was nothing but a whisper now.

"I'm sorry Sasuke…" she looked at him sadly as tears began to build up in his eyes. He turned around before they fell and slowly walked away. "I'm sorry, Sasuke…"

* * *

No one could tell how Sasuke was feeling right now, he was nothing but a void again. Shielding up his emotions and keeping them locked inside. Surely that would be the very last time he would let go like that again. No more, shall he express so much emotions for his so called love. He just wanted attention like he once had. 

"No more…"

Far in the distance, someone was watching over Sasuke with his Sharingan eyes. 'What makes you so special that makes him react that way?'

* * *

_She defended me, she could've died to protect me…is this love?_

He gazed at her as she silently slept with her head on his lap, taking deep even breaths as she dreamt.

_So much emotions, I can't understand, I don't understand…_

Gingerly, he ran his fingers through her pink hair.

_But I feel that she will help me get through them…I'm…I will protect her. With all my heart and will.

* * *

The next day had been fairly interesting for her, Gaara let her hold onto his arm as they walked and he even replied her with more than just a 'Hn.' And sometimes they would even hug in public, drawing many odd looks. _

"AH! SAKURA GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Ino shouted out as she pulled her away from the red head who gave her a glare. "Do you have any idea who you just hugged?" Ino whispered into her ear. "Of course I know, it's-"

"OH MY GOD! YOU PUT HER IN A GENJUTSU TRICK DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU!" Ino continued to yell at Gaara as he glared daggers back at her. "Sakura, look at me! That is not SASUKE!"

"Ino, I know and will you keep it down? I wanna keep my hearing until I'm at least a hundred years old." She smiled at Ino who was so shocked she accidentally dropped her. "Why are you hugging the human ice cube in public? That should be illegal or something."

"He's not a human ice cube. Sasuke is though." Sakura spoke as she got up. "OH MY GOD! YOU _BRAINWASHED_ HER!" Ino glared at Gaara.

"Ino, he didn't brainwash me alright? I'm going out with him." She smiled apologetically at Gaara for her friend's behavior.

"OH MY GOD! HE _BLACKMAILED_ YOU!" Ino continued to scream out excuses and throwing fits in the air, allowing time for the two of them to sneak off unnoticed. "OH MY GOD! YOU-hey where did they go? OH MY GOD! HE KIDNAPPED HER!"

* * *

"You're friend is weird…" Gaara looked over at Sakura who had a smile on her face. "Yeah, she's like that but I guess it's her way of looking out for me." Just then, Naruto and Lee came around the corner and spotted them. 

"THERE HE IS!" Naruto shouted out to Lee who came up rushing to the red head. "You stole m precious Sakura…" Lee held onto his collar and cried mini rivers down his face. "You better look after her or else. "THE YOUTH OF YOUNG MEN MUST ALWAYS PROTECT THEIR WOMEN!" Lee shouted out, doing a very too dramatic pose.

They made a sweat-drop as they stared at Lee. Then the 'beautiful green beast of Konoha' whirled around and stared at Gaara right in the face. "Dude, gimme some personal space here…" Gaara spoke as he glared at Lee.

"I apologize my friend, let me take you around Konoha to the best places in the whole world where you can take Sakura around! LET'S GOO!" Lee dragged Gaara who gave Sakura an almost frightened look and Naruto followed them, giving Sakura a wave and snickered at the sand-nin.

Sakura happily waved back at them and stuck her tongue out at Gaara. "HAVE FUN GUYS!" She turned around thinking that maybe she could find Ino and explain her situation to her but somebody bumped into her. "Oh, sorry I didn't see you." Sakura bowed down and when she looked up she froze in fear.

'No way.' She backed up but he took a step at her. His black robe covered in red clouds blowing in the breeze. His eyes analyzing her every move. "Hello there, my cherry blossom. How are you in this fine weather." She could tell that he was smirking behind that collar of his, she wanted to run, she wanted to scream but she was stuck in place. "Let's go for a walk shall we?"

* * *

That was weird...even for me...but it was FUN! Anyways...That song was Pure Snow...Very nice song...By...Yumiko...Den? Or is it Himiko Den...Oh man...I forgot...Don't take my word for it...look it up yourself... 


	10. Loss

I'm glad this story wasn't as bad as I thought it was…I was probably just starting out in the first six chapters but that was probably because I was….not good? And yeah…now that I'm better! Sweeet! 

I'm not sure if that made sense or not…but I hope it does…?And yeah…with the random thing with 'Dude' and Gaara? Yeah that was impulse sorry…

* * *

"And this place is really good for picnics too, the youth of Konoha will be in full bloom!" Lee stroke a pose and it was utterly embarrassing for the blonde and the red head. They made a sweat-drop. 

"I'm gonna go find Hinata-chan now…" Naruto spoke as he made a bee-line away from Lee. "I'm…going…" Gaara moved off while Lee was still doing his dramatic pose. Then Gai joined them.

"LEE! THAT IS NOT THE WAY YOU DO THE POSE! IT'S LIKE THIS!" Gai shouted out as he made an even more ridiculous pose than Lee. "GAI-SENSEI! WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Unfortunately, Gaara was there to see them…and now he was over run with lotsa sweat…eww. Poor Gaara. He tried to leave as fast as possible after that, wondering where he could find Sakura. He walked around the village in search of anything pink or even slightly pink, but never found her, unless you define her and pink as in a pink kimono, a pink shop (so pink…), a pink Sakura tree…where is Sakura? He sighed and decided to try Ichiraku Ramen but found only Hinata and Naruto…typical. Then he went over to her house but she wasn't there.

After that, as much as he didn't want to go, he had to go in order to find her. Ino's flower shop.

"You…" he spoke as he looked at her, unable to remember her name. "You…" she replied with a glare. "You…" he thought again, trying to think of her name…so familiar…

"Yes, me…I'm Ino in case you forgot…"

"Where's Sakura?"

"YOU LOST HER! FIRST YOU KIDNAPPED HER AND NOW YOU LOST HER? YOU'RE HORRIBLEEEEE!" oh the dramatics…when will it stop?

"Lee dragged me away from Sakura…I didn't lose her."

"Well too bad 'cause I have no idea where she would be." 'Not that I'm gonna tell you even if I knew…' she thought to herself with a smirk on her face.

'Thanks for nothing.' He sneered at her before he sighed and walked off again, in search for his pink haired shinobi. Just as he turned a corner, he nearly bumped into a white haired Jounin.

The one named Kakashi stopped and came forward at him. "Do you know where Sakura is?" he asked hoping to have a good enough answer for him. "No, I was looking for her." Kakashi cursed under his breath and ran off again, but Gaara followed him as well. "What's wrong? Is there something going on with Sakura? Is she hurt?" the red head asked but received no reply from the white haired Jounin.

"We have sources of a certain…Uchiha that kidnapped Sakura…" Kakashi spoke slowly as he eyed the sand-nin. "Sasuke…"

"No, not Sasuke, his brother…"

'No way!'

* * *

"Let's see…how my little brother will react to this…" Itachi smirked as he looked at her once more before leaving her behind, in the forest of doom. 

"Let's see if he'll survive through this…by taking one more of his precious people…"

"Let's see if she'll survive through this…"

* * *

"TELL ME!" Gaara shouted at Kakashi who drew in a breath before speaking again, "Some people saw him go into the forest of doom but-" Kakashi was cut off when he saw that the red head had already left towards the forest of doom, faster than anticipated, even faster than Kakashi himself. 

"Please Sakura, be ok. Please be ok." Gaara continued on with this mantra as he commanded his sand to take his form and find her. "Please be ok." He continued to dart from tree to tree frantically searching around for her, until he spotted something that shouldn't be associated with pink. Red blood.

He ran up to her, nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. "Sakura, can you hear me! Say something! Please, anything!" he held her tightly in his arms as he looked for signs to show that she was ok, but she was far from ok, anything but ok. He gingerly picked her up and ran to the hospital, tears flowing freely from his eyes, occasionally landing a drop on her face.

What he didn't notice was that, Itachi was watching them. "This has become interesting…" he smirked to himself, thinking of more ways to crack his brother and his new objective…Gaara of the Sand.

When he arrived to the hospital, the first thing he did was threaten their life if nobody came up to help them straight away, forgetting that Sakura would need them. She was rushed into the intensive care unit, trying to heal her wounds and using their medical techniques to revive her from her comatose state. Even Tsunade came in to see who was threatening all her medical-nins but dropped the subject when she spotted Sakura in critical condition.

"You, get him out now," she spoke as she gestured over to Gaara. Once he left she began again, "We have to do a blood transfer, she's lost too much." Tsunade spoke as she readied herself for the technique.

Leaving Gaara out in the blue, he could do nothing but wait and hope for the best. He dropped his gourd by his seat and stared at the door. What was actually an hour felt like eternity to Gaara, constantly pacing around the room and glancing over to the clock on the wall. Glaring daggers at people who disturbed him.

When Tsunade came out, she was slightly sweating for using a lot of her techniques. "She's fine but she's still asleep. We're gonna put her in room five-zero-two in a few minutes but you have to fill out this form for us, fill in as much as you can then return it to the nurse behind the desk." He took the clipboard offered to him and nodded curtly, trying to fill in the things he knew about her.

'Name? Haruno, Sakura.' He thought to himself as he scribbled it down and glanced at the clock again. 'Age? 14, same as me.'

'Gender…female…'

'Siblings? None…'

'Parents?' he didn't know how to answer that one so he left it blank. He knew that she had a mother but he didn't know the name. He got frustrated and was eager to see her, so he left the others blank and dropped it hastily on the desk without saying anything to the nurse. He picked up his gourd again and ran to her room.

'Five-zero-nine…five-zero-seven,' he glanced to his left. 'Five-zero-four…five-zero-two!' he stopped right in front of the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.

He looked inside and there she was, on life support. She was heavily bandaged and she was wearing an oxygen mask, one of her eyes was also covered. Her arms were wrapped in dressing and Gaara now more than anything wanted to find this Itachi and kill him for hurting her so much, he clenched his fists so hard it was shaking out of anger. 'DAMN IT! I SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HER!' he shouted to himself in his head, blaming himself for this, for everything.

He slowly walked up to her bedside and took a stool, leaving his gourd by the door. He watched her, as she silently dreamt, silently slept.

_Was she crying when that bastard hurt her? Is she in pain? Was she screaming? Did she call out for me?_

He thought to himself as he continued to stare at her, her deep breaths and sometimes short.

_Are you hurting right now? I'm sorry I wasn't there…_

Gaara punished himself mentally for this happening.

_I shouldn't have left you behind…I'm sorry…_

By the end of the day, everyone she knew came to visit her, Ino dragged Gaara out and yelled at him constantly screaming at him, shouting, "WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP HER? WHY DID YOU LEAVE HER! WHY DIDN'T YOU KEEP AN EYE ON HER! YOU BASTARD! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Ino screamed out as she slapped Gaara on his face. Shikamaru had to hold her tight to keep her from hurting herself and him any further. When Naruto asked why his sand didn't come up, he & replied, "I deserved it…"

Even Sasuke himself showed up, they never exchanged a word or a glance during his visit, he simply looked at her with sorrowful eyes and left in search of Kakashi, hoping that he might know who did this.

She had been in a deep sleep, for everyday, for two weeks. After the first week, they took off her life support and checked twice a day not including the checks done by Tsunade herself. During that time, everybody visited at least once a day, even Sasuke came at least once a day. Ino came everyday to put new flowers in the vase. Daffodils filled with her wishes for Sakura to get better. Gaara never left the room, not once. He simply stared at her bandaged form, wishing everyday, hoping that she would open her eyes. He never took his eyes off her, in fear of losing her forever. He wanted to be the first person she sees when she wakes up.

She stirred in her sleep one day, and it had woken him from his reverie and made him jumped from his seat. Naruto had been there during that time, and if it weren't so serious, the blonde would've laughed his ass off.

The nurses had taken off most of the bandages but the ones that were wrapped up on her arms and legs were still there.

Then on that fateful day, when Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto came by for a visit, she opened her eyes. Her first thought was, 'I hate hospitals…to god-damned white…' Nobody likes hospitals, nobody. Not unless they're sadistic people but we're getting off the subject…

"Sakura-chan! Are you ok?" Naruto asked as he looked at her intently, not wanting to touch her in case he broke her. "Hi Naruto…Hi Sasuke-kun!" she happily spoke his name which partly broke Gaara's heart but he didn't mind, she was awake. Slowly and painfully, she got up from her seat, Kakashi, Naruto and Gaara came to help her up but she flinched when the red head touched her. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at him. He was confused now and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Get out of my room, and leave me and Sasuke-kun alone." She sneered at him.

"Shit! She's got amnesia!" Kakashi concluded as he slapped his head. Gaara, not wanting to get Sakura all stressed out, he grabbed his gourd and let, staying outside until everything was explained to her. Kakashi gave an apologetic look as the sand-nin passed him. Once the door clicked into place, she spoke badly of Gaara even more.

"What the hell is that bastard doing here? Why the hell did he just touch me!" Sakura spoke as she rubbed the part where the said person had touched her, trying to get rid of his contact.

"Sakura, you don't remember?" Naruto asked as he gave her a concerned look.

"Of course I remember a guy like him, he tried to kill Sasuke-kun in that freakish demonic form of his. What a freak." Her reply made Naruto cringe and his concern look was taken over by one of pain and betrayal.

"Sakura, you don't understand." And with that the blonde left, leaving behind Kakashi and Sasuke to explain everything else. While outside the door, Gaara asked if she was ok.

"Yeah, she's fine, but she doesn't remember anything about you other than the fact that you tried to kill Sasuke once."

"But that was…over a year ago, like two years already!"

"I know, she's got amnesia I think, it's most likely anyway."

"How do we get it back?"

"Get what back?"

"Her memory! Everything!"

"We can't do anything about memory loss…" Tsunade spoke when she overheard their conversation. "There's nothing that can help you regain your memories, you have to remember it yourselves."

"She hates me! What do I do!" Gaara shouted as he grabbed Naruto's collar shaking him slightly. "Hey, calm down!" Naruto yelled out as he made Gaara loosen his grip.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to do anymore, what can I do!" he asked as he looked up at the Hokage.

"I can try but I won't guarantee anything." Tsunade spoke as she walked into the room. When she closed the door, the first thing Sakura asked was, "Who are you? You don't look familiar. Are you a new medical-nin?"

"I'm Tsunade…and I'm one of the legendary sennin…"

"Then you must be old…" she slapped at her mouth for saying something out loud, this earned her a glare from the blonde. 'Like Naruto…'

"You've forgotten at least two years of your memory…" she began, 'That means, she still loves me.' Sasuke thought to himself. "So we have to help you regain them back, especially about Gaara."

"That freak? I don't wanna know about him."

"You've been going out with him for a couple of months now dear…"

"A couple? You're joking! He's a psycho killer!" she screamed out and Naruto, Gaara heard her from outside the door, it broke his heart. "Hey Naruto, look after her for me…" and with that, he left, with his head down staring at the floor. Naruto watched helplessly at his friend looking so broken and he went back inside the room with an angry glare.

"Naruto, stop scaring people like that." Sakura spoke as she leered over at the blonde. "You didn't even give him a chance!" Naruto shouted at her and she retorted back. "Give who a chance! That freak! No way!" she scoffed at him and turned away. "You just don't understand Naruto."

"I understand more than anything. You broke his heart!" Naruto screamed at her. "I wasn't even in love with him!"

"You are! You were until that other 'freak'" he looked over at Sasuke, "came and gave you amnesia!"

"Don't you dare blame Sasuke-kun on this!"

"You hate Sasuke!"

"I did not!"

"Alright, SHUT UP!" it was surprising to hear Kakashi lose his cool instead of Tsunade. "Sakura, how old are you? And who do you really love?"

"What a stupid question…I'm twelve and I'm in love with Sasuke-kun…" she spoke with a blush on her face. Naruto scoffed.

"Scoff at me again and I'll punch you!" Sakura shouted at the blonde. "I would punch you back if I hadn't promised Gaara I'd look after you!"

"I never asked for your help! And why would Gaara care about me! He nearly killed me!"

"Alright, SHUT UP!" this time it was Tsunade instead. "Sakura, you're fourteen, not twelve, you're going out with Gaara and you're not in love with Sasuke." Kakashi spoke when everybody settled down.

"Che, whatever."

"Stop being so childish!" Tsunade yelled at her.

"You don't have the right to shut me up!"

"Watch your manners girl. I've had enough of your disobedience."

"Sakura, she's Hokage of the village. Godaime-sama." Kakashi spoke.

"Where's Sandaime?" she asked and everybody gave a sad look, not Sasuke.

"He's dead, he died two years ago, during Orochimaru's invasion."

"I don't remember that…" she spoke as she gave a confused look. "How much do you remember?" Kakashi asked.

"I remember being knocked into a tree and that's about it." She said. "I see…" he looked over at Sasuke and whispered into his ears. "You better not take advantage of this, you lost her already."

"I can get her back, this is my second chance." He replied back with a glare. Kakashi gave him a stern look before moving on. "We'll have to make you remember the things you forgot in these past two years…and that means meeting with Gaara."

"But I-" Sakura started but got cut off by Naruto. "No buts…you have to remember, or I'll have to make you remember forcefully."

'This is not the Naruto I know…what happened these past two years?'

* * *

Extra long…and it's so damn late…..like…..2 am in the freaking morning! Be happy I'm this dedicated to you…yawn! 


	11. Memories of Demons

Yay! Happy, happy, happy! Thanks for all ya reviews and supports!

* * *

"I don't think you should be moving yet." Kakashi spoke as he eyed her cautiously. "Why?" she was already half way out of the bed. "You just recovered from a brutal beating."

"I'm fine now, and who the hell gave me a beating? I bet I threw in some punches and kicks too right?"

'It was impossible for you to even lift a finger, let alone scream…' Kakashi thought to himself as he sighed at his student's stubbornness. "Just stay here for one more day or at least one more checkup before you leave." She pouted her lips before agreeing. "Fine."

It had been two days since she woke up, and everybody came to visit her to find out that she's changed, far too much for their liking.

"Sakura! I'm so happy you're ok again!" Ino shouted out with glee as she gave her a hug, but Sakura pushed her away. "Ino-pig, don't hug me like that in front of Sasuke-kun."

"What's wrong Sakura?" Ino was a more than just a little shocked, they hadn't called each other names since…last year. "I thought we stopped calling each other names already, don't you remember?" Ino spoke as she held into her daffodils. "Why would I ever stop calling my rival for Sasuke-kun's heart pig?" Ino was about to cry or at least shout back but Kakashi held her back. "I'm afraid she's got amnesia, she doesn't remember anything from the past two years."

"You're joking me!" she looked up at the silver haired Jounin and looked back at Sakura, she was pouting her lips and crossing her hands like a child, like…what she use to do when she was twelve. 'I see…'

Everybody that came to visit was shot back down with the same stubbornness, she wouldn't stop calling Lee 'ugly-face' or 'fuzzy eyebrows' and she called Naruto stupid more than once. And on the third day, nobody came to visit her, not unless it was Kakashi, Naruto and surprisingly Sasuke.

Gaara wanted to visit, but that would 'freak' her out too much so he stayed well away from her room, asking Naruto every time the red head saw him if she was ok or does she remember.

Naruto's reply always the same, "She's ok but she's damn stubborn and no, she doesn't remember. She's so damn childish…"

"How are we to help her?" Gaara asked one day instead of the usual. "SHE'S OK BUT SHE'S – oh…well, I think she's gonna stay one more day or one more checkup before she's allowed to leave."

"And then?"

"We might have to rearrange another trip to Sand or take her around the village or something. And I probably have to tell her everything about me and you again."

"Me and you?"

"Demons, ya know?"

"Are you sure she can handle that kind of information, especially when she just woke up?"

"Sure, I told her about it two years ago, sometime after the chounin exam."

"I see…" he hung his head low, wondering if she might remember a bit about him other than a cold blooded killer. "Will she remember me?"

"I'm sure she will, I'll make her." Naruto smiled at the red head. "Hey, wanna get some ramen? My treat." Naruto offered. It's not everyday the blonde offers to pay for your bowl of ramen. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

"Ok! I've had my checkup…can I go now?" Sakura asked as she stood in front of the cupboard. Kakashi was reluctant to let her go out, with Sasuke on the loose to get revenge, but he couldn't keep her in the hospital forever. "Fine…"

Sakura's face lit up and she made Kakashi go outside while she changed, when she was done, she wanted to look pretty for Sasuke so she went straight home to change out of her tatty clothes to another dress.

"I wonder where Sasuke-kun is today?" she asked as she looked around. "I know! He must be at the bridge right now!" she made a dash to the bridge forgetting that Kakashi was following her. "Slow down, I don't want you to open up any old wounds." Kakashi spoke as he eyed her carefully. "Come on! I'm not a baby! I can totally look after myself. Now you wouldn't know where Sasuke-kun might be today, do you?"

"No, I don't know." He replied not wanting her to find him. "Well, you can help me find him then!" she smiled as she pulled him towards the bridge.

In order to get to the bridge, they had to pass Ichiraku Ramen, and that was where Gaara and Naruto were. "Ah man! That was good." Naruto smiled as he patted his stomach. "You had…twenty bowls…" Gaara told him. "Yeah, I know, last time I came here, I had…thirty or something." Naruto laughed, Gaara sweat-dropped. 'Who can eat that much?' then the blonde answered his question. "I think it's the Kyuubi or something." Naruto spoke as he took a step out of the stand joined by Gaara, they began to walk to the hospital, the opposite direction of the bridge.

They chatted happily, or more like Naruto was, and they saw Kakashi and Sakura in the distance. All of a sudden, Gaara's heart sank and it was starting to hurt him, subconsciously he grabbed hold on the fabric that covered his heart. Naruto noticed this and felt bad for him.

Where Sakura and Kakashi was, the pink haired shinobi started to panic. "Oh no, there he is. What do I do, where should I hide? What if he sees me!" she started to looked around frantically for a place to hide but Naruto and Gaara continued to come forward, when they were a few steps from each other, Sakura began to tense up.

Gaara didn't look at her, he looked down at the floor, in case he made her go crazy so he just walked past her, still clutching onto his heart. When they were out of sight, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Phew, that scared me." She smiled up to Kakashi. "Let's go find Sasuke-kun!"

"Sakura, you need to talk to him." Kakashi spoke as he looked down at her. "Who? Sasuke-kun?"

"No, Gaara. You've hurt him deeply."

"So? I don't even remember him, and why would I date a guy that nearly killed Sasuke-kun?" she pouted at him. "Don't give me that face Sakura." He threatened her which made her take a step back. "I don't know what the hell Itachi did to you, but you better get improve soon or you'll lose everyone you ever knew." And with that he gave her one last look before leaving her behind.

"Geez, what's with people these days." She sighed and walked off to the bridge where she found him. "Hey Sasuke-kun!" the said person looked up from the river and saw her waving to him. He smirked at her.

"Hey, wanna go out or something?" she spoke as she stared at her sandals blushing two shades of red. Sasuke gave it a tiny thought and shrugged. "Sure…"

Sakura could've never been happier in her life, her eyes lit up and she stared unbelievingly at him. "Where…?" he asked as he pushed himself off the bridge and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Ano, um…I know you don't like sweets, so how about…um…" she was at a loss, she had always wanted Sasuke to go out with her, but she never planned anything after that. "I don't mind…" he heard her say, "I'll just eat a little bit of it."

"What about…Dango then?" she suggested. "Yeah, sure…"

Sakura silently praised herself for her efforts as she walked behind Sasuke as they made their way to the stall, they pick a pick and table and ordered tea and dango. A plate of four sticks with dango and two cups of tea came to their table, while he slowly ate one, he offered his other one to her, so she ate three instead, a bit shyly but still. After that, they went walking around the village even though she suggested that she didn't mind watching him spar with somebody but then he said, "The only person worth sparring with is Kakashi-sensei or dope."

More than once, they both passed Gaara and Naruto. And every time that happened, Sakura would tense up and Sasuke would smirk at Gaara who returned it with a glare which scared Sakura even more. By the end of the day, they were at the bridge again.

"I'm going home now." Sasuke spoke as he pushed himself off the side the second time that day. "See you tomorrow." He nodded curtly at her before leaving. "Alright! It's a date!" she squealed inside her head as she watched Sasuke make a small wave and going into the distance. She practically skipped all the way home and people were giving her odd looks but she didn't care, 'Yes! I'm finally dating Sasuke-kun!'

She suddenly stopped as she realized who was walking right towards her, she froze, unable to do anything to help her get away or even hide. He saw this and felt even more broken than he was before, this time without Naruto to help him get better, he simply just walked past her, without a word, not a glance.

It confused her, Naruto, Kakashi and even Tsunade who was the fifth Hokage, they had said that she was dating him and they were together. But now he's just ignoring her. A little frustrated at her confusion, she decided to ask him. "Why aren't you talking to me?"

"Do you remember?" he asked as he looked at the floor, stopping on the spot. "No."

"Because, it'll stress you if I did, the only thing you remember about me is that I tried to kill you. That's why I'm giving you time to remember." He held onto his heart as she asked once more. "Why aren't you trying to make me remember?"

"Because, you're afraid of me, there's no use in making somebody remember things they don't want to…"

"What if I do?" she stared at him as he slowly turned around to face her, inwardly she flinched but little by little she started to feel depressed at the look he was giving her, so filled with pain, sadness, betrayal.

"What if you don't? You get nervous and scared whenever you see me, you're happier with Sasuke…so I'm letting you go so you could be happier." He spoke as a small tear drop slid down his cheek to his chin, she saw this and felt even more horrible than before.

He glanced at her one more time before turning around to leave, but not before she shouted out to him, "I'm sorry I called you a freak, I didn't mean it!" he nodded at her and continued to walk away.

She couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling, why was she feeling so guilty, why does her heart hurt? It's hurting for him. She couldn't understand why she didn't like to see him sad, it was heartbreaking for her. Was it?

_I'm letting you go, so you could be happier…happier without me to interfere…_

The next couple of days, she spent with her Uchiha Sasuke. They were being closely monitored by Kakashi and Naruto himself. Naruto felt like breaking Sasuke whenever he made Sakura laugh although not intentionally, Sakura found anything about Sasuke completely funny, it made Naruto want to throw up at the sight of it all. Whenever the blonde went to find Gaara, he always found him on top of the Hokage's face staring into the horizon, with his head hung low and sometimes tucked between his knees.

"Hey, if it'll help you feel better, she is happy…" Naruto told him as he took a seat beside the red head. "Happier than being with me?" Gaara asked. "I don't know…"

"Will she ever remember me?" Gaara asked as he looked at the blonde. "You're not giving her a chance to…"

"But she's afraid of me…"

"You're letting her be afraid of you."

"But she's happier with him…"

"That's because you decided to let her go…It's not pure happiness, what she has with Sasuke is just a small crush, what she had with you was different. It was real. My question is…do you want her back?"

"…yes…"

"Then go get her back, I seriously wanna throw up whenever she's with that baka…" Naruto smiled at Gaara. "Of course, I forgot to tell her about our demons so I'll do that later." Naruto continued. "I'll see you tomorrow ok?" Naruto waved goodbye as he walked off, leaving the red head to contemplate what the blonde just said.

_I want her back, I want her back in my life…_

Later that night, after seeing Sasuke off, she was skipping back home with a smile that wouldn't go away, not until she saw Naruto. "What do you want Naruto…"

The blonde simply stared at her with serious eyes that made Sakura flinch inwardly. 'What's his problem?' Then she realized what was going on, "Oh I see, you're just jealous 'cause I picked Sasuke-kun over you. No I won't go out with you." She stared back at him. He continued to stare at her in a way that seemed awfully familiar but she couldn't remember what.

"Are you starting to remember?" he asked. Her head was starting to ache a little bit but she ignored it. "Remember what Naruto…"

"Remember what I said about demons…" he spoke as he continued to stare at her with analyzing eyes.

Vaguely, she was starting to remember but only a little bit.

**Flashback…**

_"Naruto! How is that possible? It's not possible!" Sakura asked as she examined his hand once again. "I just saw you cut your hand! It was bleeding and now there's nothing! It's not even a Genjutsu trick!" she continued to shout as him as she tried to release the technique but it didn't work._

_"Sakura, calm down! Maybe it's about time I told you…" he looked a little depressed worried that he might lose her as a good friend. He had long giving up his love for her and now they were just really good friends and a good sparring partner every once in a while._

_"Tell me what Naruto?" she looked at him with concern. "I well…it's…you know the Kyuubi? The demon that attacked the village those years ago?" he saw her nod from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, what about the Kyuubi?" she asked, he took a deep breath before continuing again. "Yondaime couldn't find a way to kill the demon so he decided to seal it in a new born baby, since a new born baby could handle the amount of chakra that the demon possesses. Do you know who that baby is?" he looked up at her, fear sketched all over his face._

_"Naruto, if you're afraid that you'll lose me as a friend because you have a demon, then you are sadly mistaken. I've been friends with you for a long time and no demon is ever gonna change that. Ok?" she smiled at him and unexpectedly he hugged her. "Thank you Sakura, so much."_

_"It's ok Naruto, it's ok." She patted his back for comfort and when he pulled away, he had that same smile on his face once more. "Now, that's the Naruto I know! I'll treat you to one bowl of ramen ok? One bowl!" she stuck up one finger at him and he nodded._

_"Hey, there's also something else I gotta tell you." He spoke as he fell into step with the pink haired girl. "Yeah, what is it?" she asked. "There's someone else that's like me, who's got a demon like me."_

_"Oh? Who's that?"_

_"You've met him before, his name is-"_

**End Flashback…**

She finally snapped out of her trance and stared at the blonde who asked again. "Do you remember?"

"You…you're a demon?" she asked as she took a step back. 'Oh man, she's not taking it well…' Naruto thought to himself. "What ever the hell that was, I don't believe it. I don't believe it!" she screamed as she ran off the opposite direction. Naruto sighed before going off to find Gaara.

* * *

Dango are these desserts…three sweet…little desserts on a stick…pink, white and green. You eat it with tea…

Sorry…can't help you with a better definition…


	12. Last Stage

My profile is out of date…must update profile…yawn…

Remember! All things...most if**NOT** flashbacks! They are all Gaara's thoughts! Hence the title...

* * *

"I didn't catch the name…the name? What was it?" Sakura wracked her brain continuously to try and remember who the other demon was, so she could avoid him…It was two in the morning and she was still wide awake trying to figure out the mystery demon vessel. "Naruto's a demon…it makes sense…" After a few more hours, she fell asleep at five in the morning only to wake up again at seven.

"Damn you…freaking demons…I'm losing my beauty sleep here…" 'I've met him before? …definitely not Sasuke-kun.' She smiled at the thought of him and went to the toilet to freshen up for the new day, forgetting that she only had two hours of sleep that morning.

It was half past seven by the time she got ready and out of the house, she walked to the bridge still wondering who the other demon was and her thoughts flashed to Gaara for a second.

**Flashback…**

_"Hey." Gaara greeted them and beckoned for Sakura to come outside, just so that the stand wouldn't lose its publicity. No one wants Gaara to ruin their reputation or lose their customers._

_"I got my visa to leave with you." Gaara spoke as he took out his pass as evidence for her to see. Her face lit up as she jumped onto the red head, taking a step back due to the weight. Not that she was heavy, it was more like he wasn't expecting it. "Yay! I can't believe you're coming with us! That's so cool." Then Naruto came out of his haven._

_"Ano sa, ano sa…what's going on?" Naruto spoke as he stuck his head out of the stand. "Gaara's coming to Konoha with us! Isn't that great?" Sakura yelled out as she jumped off the said person to punch Naruto on his head._

_"Hey, hey! Don't punch me just because you're so excited." He gingerly rubbed his head and dodged another one of her punches. "I'm not excited! I'm beyond excited! He's coming with us! Come on, let me punch you one more time!" she laughed as she tried again but failed._

_"Gaara! I feel sorry for you." The blonde panted as he got away from her, punches turning into kicks. Curiosity killed the cat…more like Naruto actually. "Why?"_

_"You've got a very aggressive girlfriend!" he shouted out, not managing to dodge this time around. "Why you little! Take that back or I'm gonna kill you!"_

_"You're already killing me!"_

_"Shut up!"_

_"Make me!"_

**End flashback…**

By the time she came out of the memory, she found herself smiling. 'Why the hell am I smiling like an idiot?' she shook her head to make her smile disappear and she continued to walk to the bridge. But the more she walked, the more she remembered.

**Flashback…**

_Pure snow Pure heart futari _

_Deatta hi mo yuki ga futte-ita _

_Koi yori mo setsunakute _

_Ai yori mo uso no nai _

_Unmei wo kanjita no_

_"I like your voice." Gaara spoke as he continued to gaze at Sakura.. "Thank you." she smiled at him._

**End Flashback…**

She found herself smiling again at that memory and shook herself hard to forget it. 'I don't want to remember!' "I'm with Sasuke-kun!" she shouted out so that it will help her forget unaware that Gaara was just a few paces in front of her. He seemed more than a little saddened by this, you could see the hurt in his eyes. She gasped when she saw him. "You…" she sneered at him.

He looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes, "I'm sorry." He turned around and left, leaving her to glare daggers at his back.

'This guy is ruining my perfect life!' she screamed in her head.

* * *

"Ano sa, ano sa…are you sure we should go there? I mean…it might bring back some horrible memories for her." Naruto asked Kakashi as they waited at the bridge for her. Sasuke was leaning on the bridge on the far side of them. "It might help her remember, we have to try…"

"I think she's starting to remember but slowly."

"How do you know?" Kakashi asked.

"I asked her the other day about demons then she ended up calling me one. So yeah."

"I see, you didn't say a word about how you told her?"

"No, she just upped and called me a demon. Must be some sort of memory recall thing."

"I suppose so, and there she is." Kakashi spoke as he turned and looked at the girl that was running up to Sasuke.

"Hi Sasuke-kun! Look Kakashi-sensei isn't late today! Must be a miracle!" she laughed as she pointed at him. Kakashi made a little sweat-drop before deciding to speak. "Ahem…today, we shall train in the forest of doom. I've got a pass." Sakura's face paled before stuttering her objective. "B-but sir! That place is like totally of b-bounds!"

"Let me repeat…I've got a pass." He held out a piece of paper approved and signed by the Hokage herself allowing them to enter the forest. "B-but what if we get into t-trouble or something?"

"That's what I'm here for."

"Oh! I get it! It's a joke right? Alright, haha very funny. What's our mission today?" she smiled to worriedly as she placed her hands on her hips. But Kakashi returned it with a serious look. "I'm afraid it's no joke. You need hands on experience with the wild. And what better than the forest of doom?" she shuddered and was about to protest again when they walked off without her, even Sasuke seemed eager to train there. 'Damn…I don't like that place.' She thought to herself before going after them.

* * *

"Neh, neh, Kakashi-sensei. Can I spar with Gaara instead?" Naruto asked just before they went into the forest. Kakashi gave it a thought before agreeing. Giving Naruto five minutes to find the red head or they leave without him. Naruto used his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to find Gaara and they returned a couple of seconds past five minutes.

"Lucky you Naruto, I was about to leave." Kakashi's visible eye curved to a crescent indicating that he was smiling. Gaara looked over at Sakura and looked away almost instantly. Whispering harshly at the blonde, "I thought we were just training with Kakashi." They started to move into the forest, Sakura's eyes darting around at anything and everything that moved her hand just hovering over her pouch.

"I didn't say we weren't going with team seven" Naruto flashed him a cheeky smile before Gaara punched him for being so…uninformative. If he knew that Sakura and Sasuke were coming, he wouldn't have agreed.

"What if Sakura gets in trouble and needs your help?" Naruto whispered back after recovering from the punch. "She can get Sasuke to help her."

"What if Sasuke is busy?"

"What if I'm busy?" Gaara retorted back.

"You wouldn't leave her, I know you." He grinned mischievously at the red head. Gaara scoffed at him and looked away.

When they got to a good enough training ground, Sakura's eyes were still darting around for anything strange, more than once she accidentally over reacted and killed a bug, a bird and a squirrel.

"Sakura! Stop killing things!" Naruto shouted out at the pink-haired girl as she threw a kunai to an unsuspecting rabbit and missed. "Ah! Look! You nearly killed the rabbit! Awww poor rabbit, I'll protect you from Sakura, don't worry." Naruto picked up the rabbit and cooed at it, to stop it from shaking so much while Sakura just glared at the both of them. 'Stupid rabbit…'

While Sasuke was training with Kakashi, he couldn't help but look up at the trees every once in a while. He used his Sharingan to scan the area but found nothing out of the ordinary, partly aware that someone was watching them but decided to ignore it. 'Could be just some stupid animal.'

Sakura watched Sasuke and Kakashi trained together, while holding onto her kunai in case somebody or something came up to her, occasionally looking over at Naruto because he scared the living day-lights out of her twice before.

* * *

'Interesting…the Kyuubi…the Shukaku…Sasuke, my foolish little brother…the Copy-cat Kakashi…and the little pink haired girl who's stolen the hearts of two cold men…or boys I should say.'

He smirked to himself as he continued to watch the unsuspecting people from high above, waiting for the right time…

* * *

"Yay! Go Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted out as she cheered on for him. Gaara got distracted by her voice and got punched by Naruto accidentally, since they were doing Taijutsu instead.

"Yo, Gaara, you ok?" Naruto asked as he offered a hand to the red head. "Fine." He smeared the blood off him and looked at it.

_Blood…long has my thirst of blood diminished…I never needed it when I was with her…_

Gaara looked up at Naruto, with his arm still out-stretched for him to take but another hand holding onto a tissue was offered to him. Gaara looked up at and saw Sakura. "Here, you're sorta bleeding."

Gaara wasn't sure if he should take it or not, fearing that if he came in contact with her, she might scream. She offered once more. "Take it." She beckoned, and slowly but surely, he raised his hand to take the tissue from her. "Thank…you."

"You're welcome." She smiled before turning around to leave them alone again.

"See, she's not afraid of you anymore." Naruto grinned at the red head who was still in shock. "Come on, don't tell me you're gonna sit on your butt the whole day!" Naruto laughed as Gaara glared at him while he got up. Brushing off the dust with one hand and holding the tissue in the other.

* * *

'Soon…soon, I shall come…' he smirked to himself as he looked down at them.

Sasuke looked up at where he felt something but nothing was there, so he shrugged it off.

'Foolish little brother…I'll come for you soon enough…and the Kyuubi and Shukaku, but until then. Continue to be oblivious of me…'

* * *

Sakura sat down, finally letting go of the tension, knowing that if she got into any trouble, Kakashi or the others will come help her. She sighed at she looked over at Gaara again, she was giving him more glances then she was to Sasuke and that was bothering her in some way.

'Why…do I keep on looking at you…why do you keep of reminding me of something?' she asked herself before she sighed again. She brought her chin down to her knees and watched them spar. Then she felt something appear behind her, and that strength was scaring beyond belief, it was deathly and familiar. Holding her breath she slowly turned around to see him…

Itachi…

"Hello, my dear sweet Sakura…" lustrous…scary…yet flowing. "SAKURA!" Naruto shouted out as he stopped whatever he was doing to run up to her side. Sasuke stopped as well and glared at Itachi activating his Sharingan and Kakashi raised his forehead protector to reveal his own Sharingan.

"Sakura!" Gaara shouted out and commanded his sand to get the missing-nin away from her.

"Tsk, tsk…this is no way to treat a guest…" Itachi spoke as he jumped away, to a safe distance away from them. "What do you want?" Kakashi asked as he closed the eye that didn't have the Sharingan ability.

"You know what I want…"

"Refresh my memory…" Kakashi glared at the Akatsuki member.

"I want…Kyuubi, Shukaku…and my foolish little brother…Now tell me, do you remember me? Do you remember what I did to you?" he asked as he eyes each of them carefully but more specifically, Sakura.

She trembled, her eyes widened in fear, staring at death, her death. Memories came flooding back to her, everything from that fateful day, to the moment she met Gaara.

"Gaara…" she spoke but nothing came out, her voice was stuck, she lost it.

"I see you've remembered, do you remember what I did to you? How I've wounded you so badly, you were nothing but a bloody mess on the floor." He spoke as he watched the emotions on her face. Fear.

"That's enough!" Kakashi shouted as he charged towards the missing-nin with a kunai in hand. "Tsk, tsks Kakashi…aren't you rushing?"

Itachi closed his eyes, "Mangekyou Sharingan!" then opened them to reveal the last stage of the Sharingan. Kakashi gasped, "Nobody look in his eyes!" but it was too late for Sakura.

* * *

"Where…where is everybody!" she looked around searching for her friends. "They were just here a minuet ago!" she got up to her feet although a bit clumsily, above her she could see the red moon. "Akatsuki…"

"Sakura…" she heard somebody say her name and it sounded like Gaara. She turned around with a smile, but it vanished when she saw him, covered in blood, more than fifteen kunais and shurikens were lodged into his body.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed holding onto her head and falling to her knees. Another image came to her, taking Gaara's place was Naruto, his lifeless eyes, and his lifeless body, she screamed again.

Then she saw Kakashi, leaning on a pole with a katana piercing his chest, a pool of blood gathering around him and blood dripping off the sword, slowly the blood came towards her. She screamed again.

After that, she saw them, brothers of hate, Itachi held onto Sasuke, a kunai to his neck, "Sakura…" and with one swift movement, blood was spilt, his blood. She wanted to scream but her throat was raw, and she couldn't scream anymore. She fell, into a black hole, into a deep sleep. Once again.

* * *

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Sakura!" Gaara ran up to her and held onto her body, trying to shake her out of the genjutsu. She screamed again, and again. The forest was filled with her scream until she lost her voice and fell into a comatose state. "SAKURA!"

'Damn him, I'll kill him!' Gaara thought to himself as he looked up at Itachi but Naruto blocked his way. "Idiot, don't look into his eyes" the blonde warned him. "He hurt Sakura, emotionally, physically, mentally." He growled out. "I know, but at this level, we can't beat him, only a taijutsu expert can really harm him."

Gaara cursed at himself, saying how useless he was in that area, he looked at her and realized that she was crying, even in her dreams in her sleep.

_Sakura…

* * *

_

Woah…thanks to my little brother who helped me remember what the last stage of the Sharingan was…THANK YOU!


	13. I scream for ice cream!

A bit of…Itachi and Sasuke in this chappie…And also…sorry for my lateness…I had trouble…thinking up something for this chapter, so yeah…Writer's block really, really suck! Like seriously…

* * *

Itachi began to chuckle evilly, "This is a pathetic sight to see…" he laughed at the girl, then at Kakashi who did nothing but stare at her limp form. "What shall you do about this? Foolish little brother…" 

"You're nothing to me, I refuse to believe we are related…killing the whole clan just to prove how strong you are…YOU'RE SICK!" Sasuke shouted at him.

"I see you've obtained the third wheel, very good brother." He spoke and clapped his hands at him. "Mind telling me, how you gained the third wheel? Little brother?"

"It's not of your business." He hissed at the taker figure. "Oh but it is my dear brother, it is my job to look out for you…"

"Then where have you been all my life? Why did you kill them just to prove your strength…why weren't you a better brother to me!" Sasuke asked with malice in his voice.

"Brother, brother…I've been watching you all your life, I simply killed them to make you stronger, and I am a better brother, helping you in your quest for power, to kill me."

"That wasn't what I wanted, it wasn't what I needed!" Sasuke shook his head.

"Do you even know what you want or need!" Itachi shouted out, he took a deep breath before cooling down again. "You don't know anything little brother…you know nothing…"

Slowly, Gaara made his sand creep up to the missing-nin, silently. But Itachi realized what he was doing and jumped away before it got out of hand. Sasuke turned around to meet Gaara's gaze. "Nobody touch him, nobody kill him. Only I can do that, only me. Me!"

"Until next time foolish little brother…I'll be watching…" and with that, he slowly disappeared into the darkness. 'Damn it…' Sasuke cursed himself.

* * *

"Is she gonna be ok?" Naruto voiced Gaara's thoughts when Tsunade stepped out of her room. "She'll be fine, she just needs to sleep right now and maybe some support."

"What do you mean support?" Naruto asked.

"She went through quite a few disturbing images in her head, the Mangekyou Sharingan is very powerful when it comes to your worst fears." Tsunade spoke.

"The bearer of the Mangekyou Sharingan can control what they want you to see, the death of a loved one, the murder of your best friend, the slaughter of your tutor, anything. And probably for Sakura's case, it could've been all three, involving us." Kakashi's brows were furrowed in anger and worry.

"That's…hard core…" Naruto grew worried and looked over to Sakura's room door. "Can we go in and see her?" he asked.

"I'm not sure if that's ok..." Tsunade sighed and gave in when she saw Naruto's pout, "Fine, I'll go see if she's ready…" She turned around and went through the door of Sakura's room, their voices were muffled but they could tell that which voices were Sakura's and Tsunade's.

"Do you think she'll recover?" Naruto asked Kakashi who shrugged, and then the blonde looked over to Sasuke. "She's smart, she'll know it's just a trick…" he frowned, trying to convince himself more than them. The images that Itachi gave him when he was little still haunted his dreams, so he wasn't sure about Sakura.

Tsunade came out and sighed once more, "Fine you can go in…but no sudden noises…" she looked over at Naruto, "And no sudden movements…" she looked over at Naruto again. "No Sharingan…" she looked over at Sasuke and Kakashi, "And nothing red…so I don't think you can go in, sorry." She looked over at Gaara.

"But, she might not mind Gaara, you know." Naruto reasoned again, "I mean, she remembers him right? I'm sure she won't mind the red hair."

"It's ok Naruto, just tell her to get better soon." Gaara spoke as he walked over to a chair and sat down. Naruto nodded at his request and went into the room, slow enough that it wouldn't scare her. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Are you ok?" Naruto whispered at her softly.

"Yeah, I guess I'm fine, why are you whispering?" she whispered back. "Ah, the old hag told me to not make any sudden movements or any loud noises, that's why I'm walking real slow and talking real soft." He smiled at her. "I see, you don't have to whisper that softly and you're walking like a turtle." She giggled. Naruto smiled as he straightened himself out and walked over to her, "Neh, you gonna be ok? How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.

"I'm fine and that's four fingers."

"No, you are so not fine, I'm holding up…oh yeah that's four…Ehehe…" he laughed nervously as he tried to keep his voice down to slightly normal. "Naruto, you are so silly."

"You don't believe in it right? Please don't believe in it." Naruto looked downcast and it made Sakura worry a bit. "Believe in what Naruto?"

"The…illusion…please don't believe in it." He asked once more before Kakashi came in and waved at her. "Yo, Sakura. You ok?"

"Hi Kakashi-sensei. I'm ok." She smiled at him as she tried to suppress the mental image. Sasuke stood outside the door, unsure if he should go in.

'Why do I hesitate to go in…I'm not Itachi…' he thought to himself as he sighed and took a step inside.

"Hi Sasuke." She smiled at him. "You remember." He asked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, I guess…where's Gaara?"

"He's still outside, the old hag told him not to come inside because of his…" Naruto pointed to his hair and she understood. "I see, I don't mind. It wasn't real, I don't believe it." Naruto smiled when he heard her say those words, "Sure, I'll go get him." Naruto went outside and walked over to the sand-nin who had his head in his hands. "Hey, uh…you can come in."

"But my hair…"

"Yeah, she said she doesn't mind."

"You sure?

"Want me to go ask her again?"

"Yeah…"

"Sakura-chan, are you sure?" he poked his head through the door way, "I'm sure Naruto."

"Absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

"Positively sure?"

"…Naruto…just get him inside…"

"…Ehehehe, ok." He looked at Gaara again and nodded his head. "Right…you go in first." Naruto smiled and went inside, followed by Gaara. "Hi." Unsure of what else to say, she just smiled at him as she tried to suppress another mental image, but her smile turned into one of pain and she held onto her head to subdue the hurt.

"Sakura, are you ok?" Kakashi asked as his hand hovered over her shoulder, she made whimpering sounds, but slowly nodded her head. "I'm fine…"

"What can we do to make it better for you?" Naruto asked as he scooted over to her side. "Ice cream is always good." She smiled as she regained her composure. "Tsunade-sama, when am I allowed to leave?"

"I see your manners have returned…" Tsunade spoke as she looked over at Sakura with a quirked up eyebrow. Sakura blushed slightly, "I'm sorry about that…"

"It's alright, you can go whenever you want, since I've already checked up on you."

"Thanks, Tsunade-sama." She smiled to the blonde and then stared at the guys. "Out please, I wanna change." She pointed her finger to the door. The boys including Kakashi were scooted out by Tsunade and once the door clicked into place, she moved over to the cupboard and changed back into her red dress. Once she got out, she made a tiny stretch and skipped away from the guys who just stared at her back. When she turned around she yelled at them, "Are you coming or what? You better treat me to free ice-cream! Oh the mental images…" she feigned passing out, but Gaara caught her anyways.

"I was joking, get it? Joking." She smiled up at him. "But what if you accidentally fell?" he asked. She giggled at him. "What?" he asked as he let her stand up properly. "Nothing, nothing." She said as she waved her hand. "I want strawberry flavor ok?" she smiled and ran off to the ice cream parlor, when she got there, she took a seat with a table and four other chairs. Hen they came through the door, she happily shouted out 'ICE CREAM' like a little girl. It made Naruto laugh, Sasuke smirk and Kakashi smile. Gaara's smiles were only reserved for Sakura to see and no one else, so he didn't smile.

"Ano sa, ano sa…do we ALL have to get you ice cream?" Naruto asked as he took a seat beside Sakura and Gaara took the seat on the other side of her.

"Of course!" she laughed when she saw the looks on their faces.

"But that's four scoops…can you finish four scoops?" Naruto asked again. "Three scoops! Gaara can get me one next time." She smiled as she nudged him. "Eh? No fair!" Naruto complained.

"He's getting me one next time you silly!" Sakura pinched his cheeks.

'I never agreed to that…' Gaara thought as he watched Sakura continue to pinch Naruto's cheeks until they were pink from hurt. "Your face looks like Sakura's hair." Gaara stated as he stared at the blonde. "I know…and it hurts…"

After they had their ice cream, Gaara's first experience resulting in brain freeze, he swore he won't have another ice cream in his life, much to Sakura's disappointment, they went off for a walk. While Naruto was chatting away with Sakura, Kakashi reading is perverted book, Gaara stayed at the back with Sasuke in front. Eventually, Sasuke slowed down to the pace to match Gaara's.

"You better look after her…" Sasuke spoke in a hushed voice as he stared at him from the corner of his eye. "Ah…" Gaara nodded, Sasuke accepted this answer and walked off to the front again, preferring solitude than company.

Drowned in his own thoughts.

_I swear I will look after her…

* * *

_

I think…this chapter is sort of confusing…don't you think?

Torn is finished by the way, but some people have been saying it's a weird and short ending…go figure…Ehehe…and I got a comment on…'YOU SUCK!'

Not my day…seriously…but flames are welcomed though, I encourage it since I'm willing to improve of my fics…of course, I improve with time and practice…but they really hurt me! (sniff sniff)

But I got an apology so that made my day! Hehe, flames and criticism are welcomed in my department, just be careful not to catch me on my bad day…hehe.

To nejithecagedbird – ano sa ano sa…which fic you want me to update? Torn is finished…so I'm not sure if it's that or not…eto…ano…yeah…hehehe.

ALSO...I'M STILL IN A BIT OF A WRITER'S BLOCK...ANY IDEAS?


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